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  • Unclassifiable CNS tumors i...
    Drexler, Richard; Brembach, Florian; Sauvigny, Jennifer; Ricklefs, Franz L; Eckhardt, Alicia; Bode, Helena; Gempt, Jens; Lamszus, Katrin; Westphal, Manfred; Schüller, Ulrich; Mohme, Malte

    Acta neuropathologica communications, 01/2024, Volume: 12, Issue: 1
    Journal Article

    DNA methylation analysis has become a powerful tool in neuropathology. Although DNA methylation-based classification usually shows high accuracy, certain samples cannot be classified and remain clinically challenging. We aimed to gain insight into these cases from a clinical perspective. To address, central nervous system (CNS) tumors were subjected to DNA methylation profiling and classified according to their calibrated score using the DKFZ brain tumor classifier (V11.4) as "≥ 0.84" (score ≥ 0.84), "0.3-0.84" (score 0.3-0.84), or "< 0.3" (score < 0.3). Histopathology, patient characteristics, DNA input amount, and tumor purity were correlated. Clinical outcome parameters were time to treatment decision, progression-free, and overall survival. In 1481 patients, the classifier identified 69 (4.6%) tumors with an unreliable score as "< 0.3". Younger age (P < 0.01) and lower tumor purity (P < 0.01) compromised accurate classification. A clinical impact was demonstrated as unclassifiable cases ("< 0.3") had a longer time to treatment decision (P < 0.0001). In a subset of glioblastomas, these cases experienced an increased time to adjuvant treatment start (P < 0.001) and unfavorable survival (P < 0.025). Although DNA methylation profiling adds an important contribution to CNS tumor diagnostics, clinicians should be aware of a potentially longer time to treatment initiation, especially in malignant brain tumors.