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T. Boyle



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    MO05 - Prognostic and Predictive Biomarkers II (ID 95)

    • Event: WCLC 2013
    • Type: Mini Oral Abstract Session
    • Track: Medical Oncology
    • Presentations: 1
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      MO05.02 - Overexpression of FGFR1 mRNA and protein are more frequent than FGFR1 gene amplification in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients (ID 2459)

      16:20 - 16:25  |  Author(s): T. Boyle

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background
      Somatic mutations and gene fusions have been identified as oncogenic drivers in lung cancer, however, a number of lung cancers have no apparent molecular aberration driving oncogenesis. It appears that gene/protein overexpression may sustain these “pan-negative” cancers. Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their receptors (FGFRs) regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, migration and survival and dysregulation of this signaling pathway is observed in a proportion of lung cancers. A number of compounds targeting FGF/FGFR are in clinical development but clinically applicable biomarker assays and companion diagnostics that accurately identify patients with tumors sensitive to these agents are needed. We previously presented cell line data demonstrating that FGFR1 mRNA (ME) or protein expression (PE) better identified FGFR1 inhibitor sensitive tumors compared to gene copy number (GCN). The goal of this study was to examine FGFR1 ME, PE and GCN in a surgically treated NSCLC clinical cohort and explore possible associations with clinical features and prognosis.

      Methods
      Immunohistochemistry, brightfield in situ hybridization, and silver in situ hybridization were used to investigate ME, PE and GCN, respectively, in a cohort of 189 NSCLC surgically-treated patients. PE was scored by the H-score method (0-300) and ME on a semiquantative integer scale (0-4+), both evaluating the entire tumor specimen. GCN was scored on continuous scale by counting the individual signals in 50 cells and determining the average GCN per tumor cell.

      Results
      Amplification (GCN >=4) was present in 8% of the entire cohort and in 11% of the squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) or mixed histology subgroup. No amplifications were found in the adenocarcinomas (ADC) or tumors from never smokers. In contrast, 29% of SCC and ADC patients had high ME (= 4+). Elevated PE (>= 100) was observed in 20% of the cohort, with the highest expression observed in SCC/mixed histology, but 6% of ADCs also showed elevated PE. There was no elevated FGFR1 PE in the never smokers. There was significant correlation but incomplete overlap between biomarkers. There were no prognostic associations, either with overall or disease-free survival, for FGFR1 GCN, ME, or PE. There was excellent inter-observer agreement among the readers of all 3 biomarker assays.

      Conclusion
      Overexpression of FGFR1 mRNA and protein are more frequent than FGFR1 gene amplification in NSCLC patients. Although GCN amplification was restricted to SCC, elevated ME and PE were found in both ADC and SCC. There was no prognostic association with FGFR1 GCN, ME, or PE. These data are consistent with our previous cell line data that showed elevated PE and ME in non-amplified cells and suggests that GCN may not identify all the potential patients who could benefit from FGF/FGFR pathway inhibitors.

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    MO19 - Lung Cancer Immunobiology (ID 91)

    • Event: WCLC 2013
    • Type: Mini Oral Abstract Session
    • Track: Biology
    • Presentations: 1
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      MO19.10 - Prevalence and prognostic association of PD-L1 protein and immune gene expression in NSCLC (ID 2437)

      11:25 - 11:30  |  Author(s): T. Boyle

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background
      Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1, CD274, B7-H1) is an immune checkpoint molecule that binds to the receptors PD-1 and B7.1 on activated T cells. Binding negatively regulates T-cell function in both physiological and pathological conditions. Recent clinical studies have suggested that numerous cancers, including NSCLC, may utilize PD-L1 expression to escape T-cell mediated cytotoxic activity. Inhibition of PD-L1 can restore anti-tumor immunity, leading to clinical responses. A better understanding of PD-L1 expression patterns, co-expression with other immune markers and actionable disease associated biomarkers may provide insight into the future design of cancer immunotherapy trials in NSCLC.

      Methods
      Expression of PD-L1 was measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in archival tumors and, in some cases, in paired metastases in 2 FFPE NSCLC tumor tissue collections. Set 1 (N=561) was collected from patients who were eligible for surgery with curative intent from 2003 to 2005 at MD Anderson Cancer Center. The samples from Set 2 (N=300) contained surgically resected NSCLC tissue collected between 2006 and 2011 (UCCC and Norwegian Radium Hospital). PD-L1 expression was analyzed in both malignant and non-malignant cells (e.g., infiltrating immune cells). In addition, a multiplex qPCR assay that measures ≈90 immune-related genes was used to characterize the tumor immune microenvironment in the NSCLC tumor samples. Disease associated biomarkers, including the mutation status of EGFR and KRAS, as well as expression of MET (by IHC) were also evaluated.

      Results
      Prevalence of PD-L1 was comparable between adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma (≈30% in tumor cells; ≈45% and ≈50%, respectively, in immune cells). PD-L1 prevalence varied depending on the pathological stage, and was higher in Stages I-IIIA than in Stages IIIB-IV. Similarly, the prognostic value of PD-L1 varied by both stage and histology. In adenocarcinoma, tumors with PD-L1–positive tumor cells had a higher frequency of KRAS mutation and high Met expression, and a lower frequency of EGFR mutation compared with PD-L1–negative tumors. In contrast, tumors with PD-L1–positive and PD-L1–negative immune cells had a comparable frequency of high Met expression. Expression of PD-L1 was frequently co-localized with CD8+ T-cell infiltrates. Gene expression profiling revealed differences in the tumor immune environment, including genes associated with cytotoxic T-cells, between adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas. PD-L1 protein and immune gene expression associations with patient characteristics will be described in further detail.

      Conclusion
      These data provide a comprehensive description of PD-L1 expression in the context of disease biology utilizing large independent cohorts of well-characterized lung cancer tissues. The results highlight the complexity of the tumor immune environment in NSCLC with particular emphasis on the association with factors such as pathological stage, histology and oncogenic mutational status. These analyses may help guide future development of immunotherapy trials in NSCLC.

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    P1.06 - Poster Session 1 - Prognostic and Predictive Biomarkers (ID 161)

    • Event: WCLC 2013
    • Type: Poster Session
    • Track: Biology
    • Presentations: 1
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      P1.06-004 - ROS1 Immunohistochemistry Among Major Genotypes of Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (ID 739)

      09:30 - 09:30  |  Author(s): T. Boyle

      • Abstract

      Background
      ROS1 (c-ros oncogene 1) is a receptor tyrosine kinase that can become constitutively active and drive cellular proliferation in a variety of cancers. Approximately 1-2% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harbor activating ROS1 gene fusions and these patients may benefit from ROS1-targeted inhibitor therapy.

      Methods
      Immunohistochemistry for ROS1 expression was performed on 33 NSCLC specimens previously characterized for the presence of genetic abnormalities. These specimens were selected for ROS1 gene rearrangements (6 specimens) detected by RT-PCR and FISH, ALK gene rearrangements (5 specimens), EGFR mutations (5 specimens), KRAS mutations (5 specimens), HER2 mutations (3 specimens), RET gene rearrangements (3 specimens), and pan-negative (6 specimens). Immunohistochemistry was performed in a CLIA-certified laboratory with manual application of the ROS1 DFD6 antibody (Cell Signaling Technology, Inc) for 1 hour. ROS1 protein expression was evaluated by a pathologist with a hybrid (H)-score scale of 0 (no expression in any tumor cells) to 300 (intense expression in all tumor cells). ROS1 over-expression was defined as an H-score greater than 100.

      Results
      ROS1 protein over-expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in all 6 of the NSCLC specimens with ROS1 gene fusions detected by RT-PCR (example in figure below). None of the remaining 27 lung cancer specimens with ALK gene rearrangements, EGFR mutations, KRAS mutations, HER2 mutations, RET gene rearrangements, or pan-negative exhibited ROS1 protein over-expression. Figure 1

      Conclusion
      Detection of ROS1 over-expression by immunohistochemistry exhibited 100% concordance with results of ROS1 gene rearrangement for 33 NSCLC specimens and did not overlap with any of the other genetic alterations. Six specimens were positive for ROS1 gene rearrangement by both RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Tumors positive for genetic alterations associated with the ALK, EGFR, KRAS, HER2, and RET genes were all negative for ROS1 gene rearrangement and ROS1 immunohistochemistry. ROS1 immunohistochemistry is a sensitive, specific and cost-effective method for identification of a subset of patients with lung cancer that may benefit from ROS-1 targeted-therapy.