Spatially preserved multi-region transcriptomic subtyping and biomarkers of chemoimmunotherapy outcome in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Transcriptomic subtyping holds promise for personalized therapy in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). In this study, we aimed to assess intratumoral transcriptomic subtype diversity and to identify biomarkers of long-term chemoimmunotherapy benefit in human ES-SCLC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed tumor samples from 58 ES-SCLC patients enrolled in two multicenter single-arm phase IIIb studies evaluating front-line chemoimmunotherapy in Spain: n=32 from the IMfirst trial, and n=26 from the CANTABRICO trial. We utilized the GeoMxTM DSP system to perform multi-region transcriptomic analysis. For subtype classification, we performed hierarchical clustering using the relative expression of ASCL1 (SCLC-A), NEUROD1 (SCLC-N), POU2F3 (SCLC-P), and YAP1 (SCLC-Y). RESULTS: Subtype distribution was similar between both cohorts, except for SCLC-P, not identified in the CANTABRICO_DSP cohort. A total of 44% of the patients in both cohorts had tumors with multiple co-existing transcriptional subtypes. Transcriptional subtypes or subtype heterogeneity were not associated with outcomes. Most potential targets did not show subtype-specific expression. Consistently in both cohorts, tumors from patients with long-term benefit (time to progression ³12 months) contained an IFNg-dominated mRNA profile, including enhanced capacity for antigen presentation. Hypoxia and glycolytic pathways were associated with resistance to chemoimmunotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: This work suggests that intratumoral heterogeneity, inconsistent association with outcome, and unclear subtype-specific target expression might be significant challenges for subtype-based precision oncology in SCLC. Pre-existing IFNg-driven immunity and mitochondrial metabolism seem correlates of long-term efficacy in this study, although the absence of a chemotherapy control arm precludes concluding that these are predictive features specific for immunotherapy.

Comprehensive cross-platform comparison of methods for non-invasive EGFR mutation testing: results of the RING observational trial.

Several platforms for noninvasive EGFR testing are currently used in the clinical setting with sensitivities ranging from 30% to 100%. Prospective studies evaluating agreement and sources for discordant results remain lacking. Herein, seven methodologies including two next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based methods, three high-sensitivity PCR-based platforms, and two FDA-approved methods were compared using 72 plasma samples, from EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients progressing on a first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). NGS platforms as well as high-sensitivity PCR-based methodologies showed excellent agreement for EGFR-sensitizing mutations (K = 0.80-0.89) and substantial agreement for T790M testing (K = 0.77 and 0.68, respectively). Mutant allele frequencies (MAFs) obtained by different quantitative methods showed an excellent reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficients 0.86-0.98). Among other technical factors, discordant calls mostly occurred at mutant allele frequencies (MAFs) ≤ 0.5%. Agreement significantly improved when discarding samples with MAF ≤ 0.5%. EGFR mutations were detected at significantly lower MAFs in patients with brain metastases, suggesting that these patients risk for a false-positive result. Our results support the use of liquid biopsies for noninvasive EGFR testing and highlight the need to systematically report MAFs.

[Afatinib as first-line therapy in mutation-positive EGFR. Results by type of mutation]. / Tratamiento con afatinib en primera línea EGFR M+. Resultados según subtipo de mutación.

The discovery of endothelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations has laid the foundations for personalized medicine in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). In phase III trials, the first-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), gefitinib and erlotinib, demonstrated greater efficacy compared with chemotherapy in patients with EGFR mutations, achieving progression-free survival of 8-13.5 months. Afatinib, a second-generation irreversible pan-ErbB inhibitor, is the first TKI that has shown a benefit in overall survival (OS) compared with chemotherapy in EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC when used as first-line treatment. Exon 19 deletion (Del19) and the single-point substitution mutation (L858R) in exon 21, called activating mutations due to their ability to confer sensitivity to TKI, represent approximately 90% of the EGFR mutations in NSCLC. Distinct sensitivity to TKI has been observed depending on the type of mutation, with greater progression-free survival in patients with the Del19 mutation. The analysis of OS in the LUX-Lung 3 and LUX-Lung 6 trials showed a statistically significant increase in survival in afatinib-treated patients with the Del 19 mutation, but no significant increase in that of patients with the L858R mutation. Direct comparison of afatinib and gefitinib as first-line therapy (LUX-Lung 7 trial) showed a statistically-significant increase in progression-free survival (hazard ratio: 0.73; 95% confidence interval, 0.57-0.95; p=0.0165) with afatinib. In the analysis by type of mutation, this benefit was observed for both the Del19 and the L858R mutations.