A Nanostring gene expression approach identifies aggressive clinical behavior related genes in dedifferentiated liposarcoma.

Dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS) is one of the most common subtypes of soft tissue sarcoma with a highly variable clinical behavior. Despite advanced molecular approaches are exploring the genetic panorama of DDLPS progression, to date the driver genes of the aggressive clinical behavior in DDLPS have not been identified yet. Here, we used a Nanostring nCounter approach to study the gene expression profile of 60 selected genes involved in DDLPS progression, in a cohort of DDLPS with aggressive clinical behavior, in comparison to a cohort of DDLPS with indolent clinical behavior. We identified five genes whose expression is significantly and consistently altered in aggressive compared to indolent DDLPS. Moreover, by a clinical outcome analyses we found MAP3K12 gene expression linked with both a higher risk of metastases and death. We envisage that the identified genes could represent the first genes of a genetic signature able to predict the clinical evolution of a DDLPS.