Abstract 5143: Molecular investigation of a polymorphic variant in JMJD1C that associates with chemoradiotherapy outcomes in locally advanced rectal and head and neck cancer
Authors: Hasan Adria , Demidova Elena V. , Czyzewicz Philip , Shah Shreya M. , Devarajan Karthik , Galloway Thomas J. , Einarson Margret B. , Burtness Barbara , Golemis Erica A. , Meyer Joshua E. , Arora Sanjeevani 
Published: March 2024

Background: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) is standard therapy for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). While only a minority of patients are expected to have a complete response, all are at risk of toxicity. Currently no biomarkers reliably predict response to nCRT in LARC. Further, standard therapy in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is adjuvant CRT. A major cause of poor outcomes in HNSCC is regional persistence or recurrence post-CRT. No biomarkers, apart from HPV, predict CRT response in HNSCC. CRT causes double-strand breaks (DSBs) and methylation of histones on lysine residues is known to affect chromatin, influencing DSB repair. We hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the histone 3 lysine 9 (H3K9) demethylase-encoding JMJD1C influenced CRT response.

Methods: LARC patients (n=84) were divided into poor (PoR) and complete (CR) responders based on Neoadjuvant Rectal score. Lymphocyte DNA was sequenced, and LARC patient-derived cells were treated with DSB-inducing agents to assess viability. Sequencing was confirmed in an independent cohort of CRT-treated HNSCC patients (n=90) divided into: disease-free (n=30), recurrent disease (n=28), and never-disease-free (n=32). HNSCCs were in the larynx or oral cavity. Not all patients received HPV-testing; p16 expression was positive for 19/43 tumors. CRISPR/Cas9 editing of HPV-negative HNSCC lines (SCC9, Cal27) generated JMJD1C WT or SNP isogenic pairs. Bulk RNA-sequencing, colony survival, and immunofluorescence studies were performed.

Results: In LARC patients, CRs were enriched for a coding, missense germline SNP in JMJD1C versus PoRs (discovery n=30, p&lt;0.00001; validation n=54, p=0.001, Fisher’s Exact). When subjected to DSB, LARC patient-derived cells with the SNP displayed greater sensitivity than their WT counterparts (n=12, p&lt;0.001, Mann-Whitney). In HNSCC, a correlation was identified between the same JMJD1C SNP and no recurrence (p=0.0003, Fisher’s Exact). HNSCC SNP cells showed changes in mRNA levels of DNA repair and immune response genes versus HNSCC WT cells (q-value&lt;0.05). Upon irradiation, kinetics of foci resolution of the DNA damage response protein MDC1, specific to DSBs, were slower in SNP versus WT HNSCC cells (p&lt;0.05, Mann Whitney). Further, there was reduced colocalization of BRCA1 with RAP80, a crucial factor for homology-directed DSB repair, in SNP versus WT HNSCC cells (p&lt;0.01, Mann-Whitney).Targeted introduction of the SNP into HNSCC cell lines reduced viability and radiation response.

Conclusion: Our study identifies a polymorphic coding variant in JMJD1C, as a predictive biomarker for CRT effectiveness in LARC and HNSCC, and defines a DNA repair mechanism by which JMJD1C influences response to irradiation.

Citation Format: Adria Hasan, Elena V. Demidova, Philip Czyzewicz, Shreya M. Shah, Karthik Devarajan, Thomas J. Galloway, Margret B. Einarson, Barbara Burtness, Erica A. Golemis, Joshua E. Meyer, Sanjeevani Arora. Molecular investigation of a polymorphic variant in JMJD1C that associates with chemoradiotherapy outcomes in locally advanced rectal and head and neck cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 5143.