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Case Reports
. 2021 Sep;10(9):2874-2879.
doi: 10.21037/gs-21-469.

Case report: identification of ERC1-RET fusion in a patient with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Jia Ma  1 , Baosheng Wang  2 , Erhong Meng  3 , Xiangpeng Meng  2
Affiliations
Free PMC article
Case Reports

Case report: identification of ERC1-RET fusion in a patient with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Jia Ma et al. Gland Surg. 2021 Sep.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive malignancy. Currently, treatment strategies for PDAC are limited because its molecular characteristics have not yet been clarified. Different RET fusions have been reported in diverse solid tumors, especially in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Multikinase inhibitors (MKIs) such as cabozantinib, vandetanib and lenvatinib, as well as selective inhibitors of RET alterations like selpercatinib (LOXO-292) and pralsetinib (BLU-667) have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for patients with RET fusion-positive tumors, such as thyroid cancer, renal cell, NSCLC, and so on. However, few studies have been reported about the association between RET fusions and PDAC. ERC1-RET fusion is a rare rearrangement. To date, it has only been reported in lung cancer and thyroid cancer. Studies of ERC1-RET fusion in PDAC have not yet been explored. In this study, we reported an ERC1-RET fusion in a 60-year-old female patient with PDAC. To the best of our knowledge, this case was the first report about ERC1-RET fusion in a patient with PDAC. It is a pity that the patient refused targeted therapy for personal reasons. Our study has shed a new light on the companion diagnostics and targeted therapy for the patients with PDAC.

Keywords: ERC1-RET fusion; Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC); RET inhibitors; case report.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://dx.doi.org/10.21037/gs-21-469). EM is an employee of ChosenMed Technology. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CT images of the patient. Arterial and venous phase CT images in the pancreatic head and neck (red arrow refers to the space-occupying lesion). CT, computed tomography.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pathological findings of the patient. Pathological findings confirmed the space-occupying lesion was PDAC (HE, ×200). PDAC, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
Figure 3
Figure 3
ERC1-RET fusion was identified by NGS and verified through Sanger sequencing. (A) Sequencing reads of ERC1-RET fusion were shown by IGV; (B) Schematic diagram of ERC1-RET fusion; (C) ERC1-RET fusion was verified by Sanger sequencing. NGS, next-generation sequencing; IGV, Integrative Genomics Viewer.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Timeline of the patient.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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