Abstract 6403: A self-replicating RNA precision medicine approach to overcoming resistance to endocrine therapy in ER+BC
Authors: Goldberg Zelanna , Maine Christian , Dailey Gabrielle P. , Domingo Christine , Picarda Gaelle , Little Hunter , Chou Annie , Sparks Jessica , Spasova Darina , Miyake-Stoner Shigeki , Hartman Zachary C. , Rabiola Christopher A. , Crosby Erika J. , Lyerly Herbert K. , Wang Nathaniel , Aliahmad Parinaz 
Published: April 2023

Drug resistance remains the major driving factor behind the clinical failure of targeted therapeutics. Current oncology precision medicine approaches rely on targeting known acquired resistance mutations, such as EGFR T790M or ALK/ROS mutations in NSCLC with 2nd and 3rd generation molecules designed to overcome or prevent resistance. These next generation targeted therapeutic approaches have increasingly long and complex drug development timelines and burdensome toxicities from off target effects (e.g. wild-type receptor targeting) or drug-drug interactions (DDI). The toxicities limit tolerability, compliance and combinability of different targeted therapeutics. RNA-based immunotherapy approaches offer an increasingly attractive alternative to next generation small molecule targeted therapeutics approaches: (1) RNA-based approaches only require a known acquired resistance sequence, (2) drug development timelines, cost and complexity can be meaningfully condensed, and (3) multiple acquired resistance mutations can be targeted with the same candidate. RBI-1000 is a candidate using a novel type of self-replicating RNA (srRNA) to generate robust immunity directed against acquired resistance mutations that develop in ER+ breast cancer (ER+ BC) in response to endocrine therapy. RBI-1000 includes on-target mutations within the estrogen receptor ligand binding domain, and bypass mutations either in the form of activating mutations in the PI3K kinase domain or amplifications of HER2/HER3. Here, we demonstrate that this srRNA encapsulated in a lipid nanoparticle primes polyfunctional CD4 and CD8 T cells leading to tumor growth inhibition and improved survival in a mouse model expressing the targeted acquired resistance mutation. Priming of T cells against acquired mutations is also confirmed in human HLA-transgenic mice. The immune cell-mediated elimination of clones expressing the acquired resistance mutations is predicted to prolong endocrine control of ER+BC, in an analogous manner to small molecule or monoclonal antibody targeted therapies, but with a more favorable dosing and adverse event profile due to precise immunologic targeting and no DDI.

Citation Format: Zelanna Goldberg, Christian Maine, Gabrielle P. Dailey, Christine Domingo, Gaelle Picarda, Hunter Little, Annie Chou, Jessica Sparks, Darina Spasova, Shigeki Miyake-Stoner, Zachary C. Hartman, Christopher A. Rabiola, Erika J. Crosby, Herbert K. Lyerly, Nathaniel Wang, Parinaz Aliahmad. A self-replicating RNA precision medicine approach to overcoming resistance to endocrine therapy in ER+BC. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 6403.