Exploratory analysis of biomarkers of response to durvalumab in advanced HER2-negative oesophago-gastric adenocarcinoma within a phase 2 clinical trial.

Authors

null

Hazel Lote

The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom

Hazel Lote , Eleftheria Giota , Caroline Fong , Anderley Gordon , Ruwaida Begum , Laura Satchwell , Shannon Kidd , Susan Cromarty , Charlotte Victoria Fribbens , Naureen Starling , Sheela Rao , Ian Chau , David Cunningham , Luis Zapata

Organizations

The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom, Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, United Kingdom, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London and Sutton, United Kingdom, The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom, The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust, London and Sutton, United Kingdom, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom, Centre for Evolution and Cancer, Institute of Cancer Research, London and Sutton, United Kingdom

Research Funding

National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), Biomedical Research Council (BRC)

Background: Advanced oesophago-gastric cancers have showcased varied responses to immunotherapy based on biomarkers such as tumour mutational burden, microsatellite instability, and PD-L1 expression. However, these markers may not fully capture tumour heterogeneity and evolutionary dynamics. Hence, understanding the intricate relationship between immune selection, specifically immune dN/dS,1 and tumour evolution is vital for devising personalized therapeutic strategies. Methods: In our phase 2 open label, multicentre, randomised PLATFORM trial (NCT02678182), patients received maintenance durvalumab post first-line chemotherapy. A survival advantage was not seen with maintenance durvalumab compared to surveillance and exploratory analysis of PD-L1 expression was not associated with improved survival outcomes.2 However, a subset of patients treated with durvalumab experienced durable responses and some experienced incremental radiological responses. A pilot substudy on a selected cohort (n=24) of these patients was designed to explore the potential of immunogenomics evolutionary-based metrics, notably dN/dS, as predictive biomarkers. DNA and RNA from FFPE baseline tumour samples underwent analysis, examining genomic factors including tumour mutational burden, indel signatures, PDL1 status, and immune evasion mechanisms. Furthermore, the evolutionary metric, immune dN/dS, which has implications in tumour immunoediting and its response to immunotherapies, was scrutinized. Results: A dominant indel mutational signature emerged from the analysis. The majority of patients displayed a significantly higher number of indel variants, compared to non-synonymous and synonymous single-nucleotide variants. A recurring observation was dN/dS values consistently above 1, indicating positive selection for non-synonymous somatic variants. Additionally, hypermutation in driver genes, notably TP53 and XIRP2, was detected. One patient, with a unique dN/dS < 1, showcased survival beyond four years without liver metastases. Immune dN/dS > 1 and no evidence of liver metastases displayed the best prognosis after treatment in contrast with those that have immune dN/dS < 1 with or without liver metastases. Conclusions: Immune dN/dS emerges as a promising tool to decode tumour evolutionary mechanisms, providing profound insights into the dynamics of tumour evolution in advanced HER2 negative oesophago-gastric cancer patients receiving durvalumab immunotherapy. This pilot study underscores the potential of this novel immunogenomic approach in improving patient stratification and tailoring therapeutic strategies in cancer immunotherapy. 1. Zapata et al, Nature Genetics, 2023. 2. Fong et al, J Clin Oncol, 2021. Clinical trial information: NCT02678182.

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2024 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Poster Session A: Cancers of the Esophagus and Stomach and Other Gastrointestinal Cancers

Track

Esophageal and Gastric Cancer,Other GI Cancer

Sub Track

Translational Research

Clinical Trial Registration Number

NCT02678182

Citation

J Clin Oncol 42, 2024 (suppl 3; abstr 384)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2024.42.3_suppl.384

Abstract #

384

Poster Bd #

J7

Abstract Disclosures