Abstract 3917: Double PIK3CA mutations in cis enhance oncogene activation and sensitivity to PI3K alpha inhibitors in breast cancer
Authors: Vasan Neil , Razavi Pedram , Johnson Jared , Shao Hong , Shah Hardik , Antoine Alesia , Ladewig Erik , Gorelick Alexander , Toska Eneda , Xu Guotai , Kazmi Abiha , Chang Matthew T. , Taylor Barry S. , Dickler Maura N. , Jhaveri Komal , Rabadan Raul , Reznik Ed , Smith Melissa L. , Sebra Robert , Cantley Lewis C. , Scaltriti Maurizio , Baselga Jose 
Published: August 2019

Activating mutations in PIK3CA, the gene coding for the catalytic subunit (p110α) of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), are the most frequent oncogenic alterations in all cancers, including estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. There are many distinct oncogenic PIK3CA mutations including major hotspot mutations (e.g. E542K, E545K, H1047R) which are predictive of response to PI3Kα inhibitors. While responses to PI3Kα inhibitors can be variable, some patients with single hotspot mutant tumors derive a deep and prolonged clinical benefit. In a comprehensive analysis of the genomic data available in breast cancer, we observed double PIK3CA mutations and investigated their potential biological relevance and potential correlation with sensitivity to PI3Kα inhibitors. We detected double PIK3CA mutations in 10-15% of all PIK3CA-mutant cancers including breast cancer. Double PIK3CA mutations in breast cancer are defined by a pattern of co-expression of a major hotspot mutation associated with a recurrent second-site PIK3CA mutation (‘minor mutation’). We have found that these double PIK3CA mutations are compound, that is in cis on the same allele, using single molecule real time sequencing (SMRT-seq) of fresh breast tumor samples. Double compound PIK3CA mutations result in increased PI3K activity and downstream signaling compared to single hotspot mutants in nontransformed cells and in ER+ breast cancer cells. Double compound mutations also increase cell proliferation and xenograft growth compared to single hotspot mutants. Biochemical experiments using recombinant PI3K compound mutant protein complexes reveal a combination mechanism of action, with simultaneous PI3K destabilization and increased membrane binding compared to single hotspot mutants, leading to increased kinase activity. Importantly, these compound mutations predict for increased sensitivity to PI3Kα inhibitors compared to single hotspot mutants in both preclinical models and also in patients with breast cancer. Together, our data support that double compound PIK3CA mutations enhance the oncogenicity of single hotspot PIK3CA mutations and this increased dependency results in increased sensitivity to PI3Kα inhibitors compared to single hotspot mutations. We propose that double compound activating mutations are an additional mechanism of oncogenic transformation in addition to other known mechanisms such as gene amplification, point mutation, or gene translocation. We speculate that double compound mutant PIK3CA may function as a clinical biomarker of increased sensitivity to PI3K-directed targeted therapies and may improve the therapeutic window of PI3K inhibitors in ER+ breast cancer and other PIK3CA-mutant tumor histologies.

Citation Format: Neil Vasan, Pedram Razavi, Jared Johnson, Hong Shao, Hardik Shah, Alesia Antoine, Erik Ladewig, Alexander Gorelick, Eneda Toska, Guotai Xu, Abiha Kazmi, Matthew T. Chang, Barry S. Taylor, Maura N. Dickler, Komal Jhaveri, Raul Rabadan, Ed Reznik, Melissa L. Smith, Robert Sebra, Lewis C. Cantley, Maurizio Scaltriti, Jose Baselga. Double PIK3CA mutations in cis enhance oncogene activation and sensitivity to PI3K alpha inhibitors in breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3917.