DNA Damage Repair Pathway Alterations and Immune Landscape Differences in Pediatric/Adolescent, Young Adult (AYA) and Adult Sarcomas

Background: DNA damage response (DDR) pathway alterations contribute to genomic instability and malignant progression in several cancers. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed molecular profiles from 5309 sarcoma patient samples, including 746 from pediatric/adolescent and young adults (ped/AYA), encompassing 38 histologic subtypes. The gene expression profiles were further analyzed for immunotherapy-related biomarker associations, including analysis of the T cell-inflamed score. Results: Pathogenic/likely pathogenic DDR alterations were detected in 15.9% (N = 842) of samples overall and 9.25% (N = 69) of Ped/AYA tumors, with mutations occurring most frequently in ATRX (10.1%). Shorter overall survival was observed for patients with DDR-alterations compared to those with DDR-wildtype tumors (Hazard Ratio = 1.172, 95% CI: 1.068–1.287; p < 0.001). In many subtypes, DDR-mutated tumors were found to have increased rates of immune markers, including PD-L1+, dMMR/MSI-high, and TMB. Conclusions: Our study of somatic DDR-pathway mutations provides a better understanding of the molecular associations across sarcoma subtypes that may aid in developing future prognostic and therapeutic options for these rare cancers.