Rare TERT Promoter Mutations Present in Benign and Malignant Cutaneous Vascular Tumors

Abstract

Mutations in the promoter of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene have been described as the most common hot-spot mutations in different solid tumors. High frequencies of TERT promoter mutations have been reported to occur in tumors arising in tissues with low rates of self-renewal. For cutaneous vascular tumors, the prevalence of TERT promoter mutations has not yet been investigated in larger mixed cohorts. With targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS), we screened for different known recurrent TERT promoter mutations in various cutaneous vascular proliferations. In our cohort of 104 representative cutaneous vascular proliferations, we identified 7 TERT promoter mutations. We could show that 4 of 64 (6.3%) hemangiomas and vascular malformations harbored TERT promoter mutations (1 Chr.5:1295228 C > T mutations, 1 Chr.5:1295228_9 CC > TT mutation, and 2 Chr.5:1295250 C > T mutations), 1 of 19 (5.3%) angiosarcomas harbored a Chr.5:1295250 C > T TERT promoter mutation, and 2 of 21 (9.5%) Kaposi’s sarcomas harbored TERT promoter mutations (2 Chr.5:1295250 C > T mutations). To our knowledge, this is the first general description of the distribution of TERT promoter mutations in a mixed cohort of cutaneous vascular tumors, revealing that TERT promoter mutations seem to occur with low prevalence in both benign and malignant cutaneous vascular proliferations.