Prevalence of delta-like ligand 3 expression in small cell lung cancer.

Authors

null

Xerxes Pundole

Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA

Xerxes Pundole , Chia-Hsin Ju , Lauren C. Bylsma , Naushin Hooda , Naimisha Movva , Ehab Elkhouly , D. Gwyn Bebb , Jon Fryzek , Akhila Balasubramanian , Danielle Jandial , Anne-Marie C. Dingemans

Organizations

Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, EpidStrategies, a division of ToxStrategies, LLC, Mission Viejo, CA, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Research Funding

Pharmaceutical/Biotech Company
Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, USA

Background: Delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3), a ligand of the Notch-family, is a potential therapeutic target in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). High expression levels of DLL3 are observed in SCLC, however different methods and thresholds are used. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to estimate the prevalence of DLL3 expression in SCLC. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases, as well as on clinicaltrials.gov, using a pre-specified search strategy. This SLR was conducted and reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42022351119). Prevalence of DLL3 expression was evaluated overall and by method of DLL3 assessment and positivity threshold. Results: Of the 30 studies that met our study inclusion criteria, 22 (73.3%) were observational and 8 (26.7%) were clinical trials. Most studies (N = 21, 70%) evaluated less than 100 patient specimens (range: 20 to 1,362 patient specimens). Twelve studies (40%) were conducted in Asia, six (20%) in Europe, five (17%) in North America, five (17%) were multi-country, one in Brazil, and geographical location was not reported in one study. DLL3 testing methods varied across studies, with immunohistochemistry (IHC) being used in 26 (86.7%) studies. Two studies used real-time polymerase chain reaction, one used quantitative mass spectrometry, and one study did not report the testing method. Thirteen of the studies (13/26, 50%) that evaluated DLL3 expression by IHC used the Ventana SP347 assay. DLL3 expression was evaluated at various thresholds of tumor cell staining and showed a wide range of expression, across studies (Table). Conclusions: The SLR findings indicate that most studies assessing DLL3 in SCLC have relied on IHC methodology. Despite the range of thresholds used for evaluating positivity, DLL3 is notably expressed in SCLC. The frequency and impact of aberrant DLL3 localization was not addressed in these studies and minimal data on comparison of IHC with other methodologies exists. Results of this SLR also highlight the need to define a standardized method and threshold of evaluating DLL3 expression.

DLL3 testing method, (number of studies)
Total N = 30
N studiesN patients DLL3 evaluation threshold (% tumor cells staining positive)Proportion of patient samples staining positive for DLL3 at evaluation threshold, across studies
Ventana DLL3 (SP347) IHC assay, (n = 13)41,477≥ 1%76.4% - 93.5%
41,417≥ 25%58.3% - 91.1%
396≥ 50%70.0% - 79.5%
2818≥ 75%47.3% - 63.0%
All other non-SP347 DLL3 IHC assays (n = 13), and non-IHC testing methods (n = 4)2164≥ 1%82.5% - 86.1%
275≥ 13.5% or 25%52.6% - 75.7%
3124≥ 50%66.7% - 89.3%
265≥ 75%56.1% - 79.2%
8916Undefined7.8% - 63.8%

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2023 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Publication Only

Session Title

Publication Only: Lung Cancer—Non-Small Cell Local-Regional/Small Cell/Other Thoracic Cancers

Track

Lung Cancer

Sub Track

Small Cell Lung Cancer

Citation

J Clin Oncol 41, 2023 (suppl 16; abstr e20618)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.e20618

Abstract #

e20618

Abstract Disclosures

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