Richard Yang

Assistant Professor, Molecular Genetic Pathology

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
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Richard Yang is an Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetic Pathology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. His research focuses on gene fusions in various malignancies, with recent publications highlighting topics such as the clinical implications of BRAF fusions in melanoma and innovative methods for genomic variant detection in solid tumors. Dr. Yang's work also explores the genetic underpinnings of tumor-agnostic therapies and the metabolic vulnerabilities in Lynch syndrome-associated cancers.

Articles (30)

Clinical and genomic landscape of RAS mutations in gynecologic cancers

Background: We aimed to describe RAS mutations in gynecologic cancers as they relate to clinicopathologic and genomic features, survival, and therapeutic implications. Methods: Gynecologic cancers with available somatic molecular profiling data at our institution between February 2010 and August 2022 were included and grouped by RAS mutation status. Overall survival was estimated by Kaplan-Meier method, and multivariable analysis was performed using Cox proportional-hazards model. Results: Of 3328 gynecologic cancers, 523 (15.7%) showed any RAS mutation. Patients with RAS-mutated tumors were younger (57 vs 60 years non-mutated), had higher prevalence of endometriosis (27.3% vs 16.9%), and lower grades (grade 1/2, 43.2% vs 8.1%, all p<0.0001). Highest prevalence of KRAS mutation was in mesonephric-like endometrial (100%, n=9/9), mesonephric-like ovarian (83.3%, n=5/6), mucinous ovarian (60.4%), and low-grade serous ovarian (44.4%) cancers. After adjustment for age, cancer type, and grade, RAS mutation was associated with worse overall survival (HR=1.3, p=0.001). Specific mutations were in KRAS (13.5%), NRAS (2.0%), and HRAS (0.51%), most commonly KRAS G12D (28.4%) and G12V (26.1%). Common co-mutations were PIK3CA (30.9%), PTEN(28.8%), ARID1A (28.0%), and TP53 (27.9%), of which 64.7% were actionable. RAS+MAPK pathway-targeted therapies were administered to 62 patients with RAS-mutated cancers. While overall survival was significantly higher with therapy (8.4 years [95%CI 5.5-12.0] vs 5.5 years [95%CI 4.6-6.6], HR=0.67, p=0.031), this effect did not persist in multivariable analysis. Conclusion: RAS mutations in gynecologic cancers have a distinct histopathologic distribution and may impact overall survival. PIK3CA, PTEN, and ARID1A are potentially actionable co-alterations. RAS pathway-targeted therapy should be considered.

Year:

2024

Collaborators (14)

Priyadharsini Nagarajan

Associate Professor

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

UNITED STATES

Gokce Toruner

Associate Professor

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

UNITED STATES

Neeta Somaiah

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

UNITED STATES

Woo Cheal Cho

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

UNITED STATES

Elise Nassif

Assistant Professor

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

UNITED STATES

Sinchita Roy‐Chowdhuri

-

UNITED STATES

Anthony P. Conley

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

UNITED STATES

J. Bryan Iorgulescu

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

UNITED STATES

David S. Hong

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

UNITED STATES

Valerae Lewis

Professor and Chair

MD Anderson Cancer Center

UNITED STATES

C. Cameron Yin

-

UNITED STATES

Fatima Zahra Jelloul

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

UNITED STATES

Chi Young Ok

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

UNITED STATES

Qian Zhang

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

UNITED STATES
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