Intramedullary Spinal Cord Tumors: Whole-Genome Sequencing to Assist Management and Prognosis

Abstract

Intramedullary spinal cord tumors (IMSCTs) harbor unique genetic mutations which may play a role in prognostication and management. To this end, we present the largest cohort of IMSCTs with genetic characterization in the literature from our multi-site institutional registry. A total of 93 IMSCT patient records were reviewed from the years 1999 to 2020. Out of these, 61 complied with all inclusion criteria, 14 of these patients had undergone genetic studies with 8 undergoing whole-genomic sequencing. Univariate analyses were used to assess any factors associated with progression-free survival (PFS) using the Cox proportional hazards model. Firth’s penalized likelihood approach was used to account for the low event rates. Fisher’s exact test was performed to compare whole-genome analyses and specific gene mutations with progression. PFS (months) was given as a hazard ratio. Only the absence of copy neutral loss of heterozygosity (LOH) was shown to be significant (0.05, p = 0.008). Additionally, higher risk of recurrence/progression was associated with LOH (p = 0.0179). Our results suggest LOH as a genetic predictor of shorter progression-free survival, particularly within ependymoma and glioblastoma tumor types. Further genomic research with larger multi-institutional datasets should focus on these mutations as possible prognostic factors.