Activating mutations in the MAP-kinase pathway define non-ossifying fibroma of bone.

Non-ossifying fibroma (NOF), which occasionally results in pathologic fracture, is considered the most common benign and self-limiting lesion of the growing skeleton. By DNA sequencing we have identified hotspot KRAS, FGFR1 and NF1 mutations in 48 of 59 patients (81.4%) with NOF, at allele frequencies ranging from 0.04 to 0.61. Our findings define NOF as a genetically driven neoplasm caused in most cases by activated MAP-kinase signalling. Interestingly, this driving force either diminishes over time or at least is not sufficient to prevent autonomous regression and resolution. Beyond its contribution to a better understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of NOF, this study adds another benign lesion to the spectrum of KRAS- and MAP-kinase signalling-driven tumours.