Genetics of Carney Triad: Recurrent Losses at Chromosome 1 but Lack of Germline Mutations in Genes Associated with Paragangliomas and Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Context: Carney triad (CT) describes the association of paragangliomas (PGLs) with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and pulmonary chondromas. Inactivating mutations of the mitochondrial complex II succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) enzyme subunits SDHB, SDHC, and SDHD are found in PGLs, gain-of-function mutations of c-kit (KIT), and platelet-derived growth factor receptor A (PDGFRA) in GISTs. Objective: Our objective was to investigate the possibility that patients with CT and/or their tumors may harbor mutations of the SDHB, SDHC, SDHD, KIT, and PDGFRA genes and identify any other genetic alterations in CT tumors. Design: Three males and 34 females with CT were studied retrospectively. We sequenced the stated genes and performed comparative genomic hybridization on a total of 41 tumors. Results: No patient had coding sequence mutations of the investigated genes. Comparative genomic hybridization revealed a number of DNA copy number changes: losses dominated among benign lesions, there were an equal num...