Distinct genomic features between osteosarcomas firstly metastasing to bone and to lung

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma initially metastasing to bone only shows distinct biological features compared to osteosarcoma that firstly metastasizes to the lung, which suggests us underlying different genomic pathogenetic mechanism. METHODS: We analyzed whole-exome sequencing (WES) data for 38 osteosarcoma with paired samples in different relapse patterns. We also sought to redefine disease subclassifications for osteosarcoma based on genetic alterations and correlate these genetic profiles with clinical treatment courses to elucidate potential evolving cladograms. RESULTS: We investigated WES of 12/38 patients with high-grade osteosarcoma (31.6%) with initial bone metastasis (group A) and 26/38 (68.4%) with initial pulmonary metastasis (group B), of whom 15/38 (39.5%) had paired samples of primary lesions and metastatic lesions. We found that osteosarcoma in group A mainly carries single-nucleotide variations displaying higher tumor mutation burden and neoantigen load and more tertiary lymphoid structures, while those in group B mainly exhibits structural variants. High conservation of reported genetic sequencing over time in their evolving cladograms. CONCLUSIONS: Osteosarcoma with mainly single-nucleotide variations other than structural variants might exhibit biological behavior predisposing toward bone metastases as well as better immunogenicity in tumor microenvironment.