Patients with leiomyosarcoma experience a high risk of recurrence and have limited treatment options. No biomarkers or targetable mutations currently improve diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment. Spatial transcriptomics, which are rarely used in sarcomas, may provide insights into leiomyosarcoma tissue structure and cell states and were the focus of a study presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 11508).
Researchers led by Ryan Denu, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, used spatial transcriptomics (the 10x Genomics Xenium platform) on a set of leiomyosarcoma tissues, including 326 tissue cores from 127 unique patients. Matched primary and metastatic samples were available for 33 patients. They identified two novel leiomyosarcoma subtypes: one with mesenchymal features and another enriched with smooth muscle cell markers. Most tumors had almost exclusively either mesenchymal or smooth muscle cells. Additionally, mesenchymal tumors had a more immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment compared with smooth muscle cell tumors, highlighting these subtypes as potential prognostic biomarkers.
Disclosure: Dr. Denu reported no conflicts of interest. For full disclosures of the other study authors, visit coi.asco.org.
