# A Case of IDH‐Mutant Astrocytoma Harboring an IDH2 R172_H173delinsSN Variant

**Authors:** Thomas Auen, Jie Chen, Nicole Shonka, Sahara Cathcart

PMC · DOI: 10.1111/neup.70048 · Neuropathology · 2026-02-24

## TL;DR

A 32-year-old man with a brain tumor had an unusual IDH2 mutation, leading to a grade 3 astrocytoma diagnosis with no tumor progression after treatment.

## Contribution

Presentation of a previously unreported IDH2 variant in an IDH-mutant astrocytoma case.

## Key findings

- The tumor had a novel IDH2 (p.R172_H173delinsSN) variant and retained ATRX expression.
- Methylation profiling confirmed the tumor as an IDH glioma, subclass astrocytoma.
- The patient showed no tumor progression 32 months after treatment.

## Abstract

IDH‐mutant gliomas most commonly harbor the canonical IDH1 p.R132H mutation, followed by less common mutations involving IDH1 p.R132 or IDH2 p.R172 codons. We present a case of a 32‐year‐old male found to have a left temporal brain tumor with regional enhancement on brain MRI, for which he underwent resection. Histologic sections showed an infiltrating astrocytic tumor with increased mitotic activity and elevated Ki67 (MIB1) labeling. The tumor was negative for IDH1 p.R132H mutant protein expression with retained ATRX expression. 1p/19q was intact by FISH analysis, and next‐generation sequencing identified a previously unreported IDH2 (p.R172_H173delinsSN) likely pathogenic variant. A diagnosis of astrocytoma, IDH‐mutant, CNS WHO grade 3 was rendered. Subsequent tumor methylation profiling performed at the National Institutes of Health matched with high confidence to the class “IDH glioma, subclass astrocytoma” and confirmed lack of MGMT promoter hypermethylation. He received adjuvant concurrent radiation and temozolomide. Surveillance brain MRI at 32 months post resection demonstrated no evidence of interval tumor progression. We present a case of IDH‐mutant astrocytoma with a somewhat atypical molecular presentation, including a previously uncharacterized IDH2 mutation, retained ATRX expression, and lack of MGMT promoter hypermethylation. Though it has not been biochemically or functionally validated, tumor methylation profiling is supportive of this previously uncharacterized IDH2 variant as tumorigenic.

## Linked entities

- **Genes:** IDH1 (isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP(+)) 1) [NCBI Gene 3417], IDH2 (isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP(+)) 2) [NCBI Gene 3418], ATRX (ATRX chromatin remodeler) [NCBI Gene 546], MGMT (O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase) [NCBI Gene 4255]
- **Chemicals:** temozolomide (PubChem CID 5394)
- **Diseases:** astrocytoma (MONDO:0019781), glioma (MONDO:0021042)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** MYCL (MYCL proto-oncogene, bHLH transcription factor) [NCBI Gene 4610] {aka L-Myc, LMYC, MYCL1, bHLHe38}, TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase) [NCBI Gene 7015] {aka CMM9, DKCA2, DKCB4, EST2, PFBMFT1, TCS1}, EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) [NCBI Gene 1956] {aka ERBB, ERBB1, ERRP, HER1, NISBD2, NNCIS}, IDH1 (isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP(+)) 1) [NCBI Gene 3417] {aka HEL-216, HEL-S-26, IDCD, IDH, IDP, IDPC}, IDH2 (isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP(+)) 2) [NCBI Gene 3418] {aka D2HGA2, ICD-M, IDH, IDH-2, IDHM, IDP}, ATRX (ATRX chromatin remodeler) [NCBI Gene 546] {aka JMS, MRX52, RAD54, RAD54L, XH2, XNP}, H3-3A (H3.3 histone A) [NCBI Gene 3020] {aka BRYLIB1, H3.3A, H3F3, H3F3A}, MGMT (O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase) [NCBI Gene 4255], TP53 (tumor protein p53) [NCBI Gene 7157] {aka BCC7, BMFS5, LFS1, P53, TRP53}, CDKN2A (cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 2A) [NCBI Gene 1029] {aka ARF, CAI2, CDK4I, CDKN2, CMM2, INK4}, PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog) [NCBI Gene 5728] {aka 10q23del, BZS, CWS1, DEC, GLM2, MHAM}, MIB1 (MIB E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 1) [NCBI Gene 57534] {aka DIP-1, DIP1, LVNC7, MIB, ZZANK2, ZZZ6}
- **Diseases:** mental retardation (MESH:D008607), tumorigenic (MESH:D002471), CNS tumors (MESH:D016543), Alpha-thalassemia (MESH:D017085), UMAP (MESH:C567162), necrosis (MESH:D009336), X-linked (MESH:C536424), Astrocytoma (MESH:D001254), temporal brain tumor (MESH:D001932), headaches (MESH:D006261), inflammation (MESH:D007249), IDH glioma (MESH:D005910), Tumor (MESH:D009369), nausea (MESH:D009325), oligodendrogliomas (MESH:D009837), vomiting (MESH:D014839)
- **Chemicals:** alpha-ketoglutarate (MESH:D007656), temozolomide (MESH:D000077204), NADPH (MESH:D009249), D-2-HG (MESH:C019417), isocitrate (MESH:C034219), Vorasidenib (MESH:C000716758)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]
- **Mutations:** p.P162S, p.R132, p.R132S, p.R172G, p.R132H, p.H179R, c.994-2A > G, c.516_517delGCinsTA, p.R140Q, asparagine (N) in place of arginine (R), p.P158L, p.R172K, p.R172L

## Full text

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## Figures

2 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12933006/full.md

## References

8 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12933006/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12933006