Serial circulating tumor DNA samples from patients with metastatic breast cancer and BRCA1/2 mutations.
Authors: Collier Katharine , Tallman David , Weber Zachary , Haynam Marcy , Adams Elizabeth J. , Jenison Janet , Asad Sarah , Lustberg Maryam B. , Cherian Mathew Amprayil , Ramaswamy Bhuvaneswari , Sardesai Sagar D. , Williams Nicole Olivia , Wesolowski Robert , VanDeusen Jeffrey Bryan , Gatti-Mays Margaret Elena , Pariser Ashley , Mortazavi Amir , Stover Daniel G. 
Published: June 2021

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Background: Analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) over time allows non-invasive evaluation of tumor genomic evolution. We characterize changes in tumor fraction (TFx), somatic copy number alterations (SCNAs), and somatic mutations (muts) over time in patients (pts) with BRCA1/2 muts and metastatic breast cancer (mBC) who received a PARP inhibitor (PARPi) or platinum chemotherapy. Specifically, we seek to identify the frequency of BRCA1/2 reversion muts. Methods: Pts with mBC and germline or somatic BRCA1/2 muts were identified on a banking protocol of prospectively-collected serial samples of blood and plasma. Control pts without a BRCA1/2 mut were matched 2:1 by age and hormone receptor (HR) status. Ultra-low-pass whole genome sequencing (ULPWGS) with 0.1x depth was performed on all plasma samples (n = 103) and the ichorCNA algorithm was used to determine TFx and SCNAs. Targeted panel sequencing (TPS) of 402 cancer-related genes was performed at 10,000x depth on plasma samples, and one blood sample per pt. The panel includes BRCA1/2 and 38 other DNA damage repair (DDR) genes. Somatic muts were identified by joint calling with Mutect2 across plasma timepoints with paired pt normal blood. Germline variant calling from TPS on blood with HaplotypeCaller was used to confirm germline muts in BRCA1/2.Results: We identified 10 pts with mBC with a germline (n = 7) or somatic (n = 3) BRCA1 (n = 2) or BRCA2 (n = 8) mut and banked blood and plasma samples at 3-9 timepoints at a median of 8 weeks apart (range 1-43). The control cohort of 20 pts with mBC and wildtype BRCA1/2 was well matched by age and HR status. All pts with BRCA1/2 muts received a PARPi and/or platinum chemotherapy at some point during sample collection. Half of control pts received platinum chemotherapy. Germline BRCA1/2 muts were confirmed in all 7 pts with known germline muts. Among the BRCA1/2 mut cohort, median TFx was 0.04 (range 0-0.57) with 20% of samples having TFx > 0.10. A median of 1.5 (range 0-39) somatic muts per pt were found in DDR genes. Four pts (40%) had secondary non-reversion muts in BRCA1/2. A reversion mut of a germline BRCA2 mut, restoring the open reading frame of BRCA2, was discovered at the last timepoint from 1 pt while receiving carboplatin. A germline BRCA1/2 reversion mut in this cohort occurred in 2.3% of samples, 14.3% of pts. There was no significant difference in the percent of genome with a SCNA between the first and last time point, nor before and after PARPi/platinum. The somatic mut landscape and clonal evolution of TPS using PyClone will be presented. Conclusions: Evaluation of serial ctDNA samples for TFx, SCNAs, and somatic muts from banked plasma and blood from pts with mBC is feasible. The frequency of reversion muts in BRCA1/2 was low, suggesting that either their incidence is low or ctDNA TPS is not sensitive enough to detect them. Secondary non-reversion muts in BRCA1/2 and other somatic DDR muts were more common. SCNAs were stable over time.