High-Risk Rhabdomyosarcomas Feature a Convergent Cell State.

Abstract

Somatic mutations often predict survival in childhood cancers, as exemplified in rhabdomyosarcoma, where FOXO1 gene fusion status is a key prognostic feature. Here, we examined single-cell transcriptomics and discovered that cancer cells of lethal disease converge on a common cell state with a shared transcriptional landscape, irrespective of fusion status. Nuclear transcriptomics, chromatin accessibility, spatial transcriptomics, perturbation studies, and previously published data sets validated the overarching high-risk cell state. The convergent cell state only partially overlapped with transcriptional effects of the FOXO1 fusion and unexpectedly exhibited neural features. Overall, these findings delineate a cell state of high-risk rhabdomyosarcoma cells that transcends conventional molecular and histological boundaries, suggesting an overarching disease phenotype that could transform target discovery and inform clinical practice.