Abstract PO2-15-07: HER2DX genomic assay in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients treated with 12-weeks of neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a correlative analysis from WSG-ADAPT-TN phase II trial
Authors: Gluz Oleg , Brasó-Maristany Fara , Nitz Ulrike , Paré Laia , Christgen Matthias , Villacampa Guillermo , Conte Benedetta , Kuemmel Sherko , Kates Ronald , Kolberg-Liedtke Cornelia , Grischke Eva-Maria , Forstbauer Helmut , Braun Michael , Warm Mathias , Hackmann John , Uleer Christoph , Aktas Bahriye , Schumacher Claudia , Vivancos Ana , Wuerstlein Rachel , Parker Joel S. , Graeser Monika , Perou Charles M. , Eulenburg Christine zu , Villagrasa Patricia , Kreipe Hans-Heinrich , Prat Aleix , Harbeck Nadia 
Published: May 2024

HER2DX genomic assay in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients treated with 12-weeks of neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a correlative analysis from WSG-ADAPT-TN phase II trial Background: Biomarkers for de-escalation and escalation of systemic therapy in early-stage TNBC are needed. HER2DX is a standardized prognostic (risk-score) and predictive (pathological complete response [pCR]-score) assay based on clinical and gene expression-based data. Here we aimed to test the value of HER2DX assay in early TNBC. Methods: Standardized HER2DX was evaluated centrally using RNA from baseline FFPE tumor biopsies from the WSG-ADAPT-TN study (NCT01815242), a multicenter phase II trial that randomized 336 patients with stage I–III early TNBC to 12-weeks of nab-paclitaxel 125 mg/m2 plus gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 d1,8 every 3 weeks (arm A) versus nab-paclitaxel 125 mg/m2 plus carboplatin AUC2 day 1,8 every 3 weeks (arm B). The primary aim was to test the ability of HER2DX pCR and risk-score models to predict pCR (ypT0/isN0) and survival endpoints, respectively, such as invasive disease-free survival (iDFS), distant disease-free survival (DDFS) and overall survival (OS). Secondary objectives were to assess the association of the i) HER2DX immune signature score and ii) percentage (%) of stromal tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) with efficacy endpoints. Uni- and multi-variable logistic regression and Cox models tested the association of each variable with each endpoint. Results: HER2DX was evaluated in 126 (37.5%) baseline pre-treatment tumors. Mean age was 52.1 (range 26-76). cT1 represented 40.5% of cases and 72.2% were cN0. Overall, pCR rate was 34.1% (95%CI 26.1 – 43.2) and median follow-up was 5.0 years. Median sTILs at baseline was 31.6% (range 0-90) and moderately correlated with the IGG signature (coefficient=0.57). The % of HER2DX high-, medium- and low-pCR groups was 41.3%, 47.6% and 11.1%, respectively. HER2DX pCR score (as a continuous variable) was significantly associated with pCR in univariate (odds ratio [OR per 10-unit increase]=1.31, 1.06-1.64, p=0.016) and after adjusting by treatment arm (OR=1.31, 1.06-1.65, p=0.015). Overall, the pCR rates in HER2DX pCR-high, -medium and -low groups were 46.2%, 26.7% and 21.4%, respectively (high vs medium/low OR=2.48, 1.17-5.34, p=0.018). In arm B (n=51), the pCR rates in HER2DX pCR-high, -medium and -low groups were 47.8%, 25.0% and 0.0% respectively (high vs medium/low OR=3.36, 1.02-12.0, p=0.051). In terms of the risk-score, the % of HER2DX low-risk and high-risk groups was 60.3% and 39.7%, respectively. HER2DX risk score as a continuous variable was significantly associated with iDFS, DDFS and OS (p&lt; 0.001 in all univariate analysis), and after adjusting by variables such as arm and pCR status (all p&lt; 0.05). sTILs were not associated with any survival endpoint (all p &gt;0.35). The HER2DX immune signature was significantly associated with iDFS (p=0.012), DDFS (p=0.022) and OS (p=0.012). Conclusion: The HER2DX genomic test in TNBC provides valuable insights into the response and survival following neoadjuvant taxane-based chemotherapy in the absence of immunotherapy. The development of a tailored genomic assay for TNBC is currently in progress.

Citation Format: Oleg Gluz, Fara Brasó-Maristany, Ulrike Nitz, Laia Paré, Matthias Christgen, Guillermo Villacampa, Benedetta Conte, Sherko Kuemmel, Ronald Kates, Cornelia Kolberg-Liedtke, Eva-Maria Grischke, Helmut Forstbauer, Michael Braun, Mathias Warm, John Hackmann, Christoph Uleer, Bahriye Aktas, Claudia Schumacher, Ana Vivancos, Rachel Wuerstlein, Joel S. Parker, Monika Graeser, Charles M. Perou, Christine zu Eulenburg, Patricia Villagrasa, Hans-Heinrich Kreipe, Aleix Prat, Nadia Harbeck. HER2DX genomic assay in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients treated with 12-weeks of neoadjuvant chemotherapy: a correlative analysis from WSG-ADAPT-TN phase II trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO2-15-07.