Subtype-specific and co-occurring genetic alterations in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma

ABSTRACT B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (B-NHL) encompasses multiple clinically and phenotypically distinct subtypes of malignancy with unique molecular etiologies. Common subtypes of B-NHL such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have been comprehensively interrogated at the genomic level. But rarer subtypes such as mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) remain sparsely characterized. Furthermore, multiple B-NHL subtypes have thus far not been comprehensively compared using the same methodology to identify conserved or subtype-specific patterns of genomic alterations. Here, we employed a large targeted hybrid-capture sequencing approach encompassing 380 genes to interrogate the genomic landscapes of 685 B-NHL tumors at high depth; including DLBCL, MCL, follicular lymphoma (FL), and Burkitt lymphoma (BL). We identified conserved hallmarks of B-NHL that were deregulated in the majority of tumor from each subtype, including the frequent genetic deregulation of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). In addition, we identified subtype-specific patterns of genetic alterations, including clusters of co-occurring mutations and DNA copy number alterations. The cumulative burden of mutations within a single cluster were more discriminatory of B-NHL subtypes than individual mutations, implicating likely patterns of genetic cooperation that contribute to disease etiology. We therefore provide the first cross-sectional analysis of mutations and DNA copy number alterations across major B-NHL subtypes and a framework of co-occurring genetic alterations that deregulate genetic hallmarks and likely cooperate in lymphomagenesis.