RASGRF2 gene fusions identified in a variety of melanocytic lesions with distinct morphological features

Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2021 Nov;34(6):1074-1083. doi: 10.1111/pcmr.13004. Epub 2021 Aug 23.

Abstract

The WHO classification identifies nine classes of melanocytic proliferations according to location, UV exposure, histological, and genetic features. Only a minority of lesions remain unclassified. We describe five cases that harbored either an ERBIN-RASGRF2 or an ATP2B4-RASGRF2 in-frame fusion transcript. These lesions were collected from different studies, unified only by the lack of identifiable known mutations, with a highly variable phenotype. One case was a large abdominal congenital nevus, three were slowly growing pigmented nodules, and the last was an ulcerated nodule arising on the site of a preexisting small nevus, known since childhood. The latter was diagnosed as a 4 mm thick melanoma with loss of BAP1 expression. The four other cases were compound, melanocytic proliferations with an unusual deep pattern of small dense nests of bland melanocytes encased in a fibrous background. The RASGRF2 fusion was confirmed by a break-apart FISH technique. Array CGH performed in three cases found non-recurrent secondary copy number alterations. Follow-up was uneventful. In silico analysis identified a single RASGRF2 fusion in the TCGA pan-cancer database, whereas RASGRF2 variants were stochastically distributed in all cancer subtypes.

Keywords: ATP2B4-RASGRF2; ERBIN-RASGRF2; RASGRF2; congenital nevus; gene fusion; melanoma.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Child
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Melanocytes* / metabolism
  • Melanocytes* / pathology
  • Melanoma* / genetics
  • Melanoma* / metabolism
  • Melanoma* / pathology
  • Middle Aged
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion* / genetics
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion* / metabolism
  • Skin Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Skin Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Skin Neoplasms* / pathology
  • ras Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors* / genetics
  • ras Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors* / metabolism

Substances

  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion
  • RASGRF2 protein, human
  • ras Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors