Abstract P28: Comprehensive Molecular Phenotyping of ARID1A-deficient Gastric Cancer Reveals Pervasive Epigenomic Reprogramming and Therapeutic Opportunities
Authors: Xu Chang , Huang Kie Kyon , Law Jia Hao , Chua Joy Shijia , Sheng Taotao , Flores Natasha M. , Pizzi Melissa Pool , Okabe Atsushi , Tan Angie Lay Keng , Zhu Feng , Kumar Vikrant , Lu Xiaoyin , Benitez Ana Morales , Lian Benedict Shi Xiang , Ma Haoran , Ho Shamaine Wei Ting , Ramnarayanan Kalpana , Anene-Nzelu Chukwuemeka George , Razavi-Mohseni Milad , Ghani Siti Aishah Binte Abdul , Tay Su Ting , Ong Xuewen , Lee Ming Hui , Guo Yu Amanda , Ashktorab Hassan , Smoot Duane , Li Shang , Skanderup Anders Jacobsen , Beer Michael A. , Foo Roger Sik Yin , Wong Joel Shi Hao , Sanghvi Kaushal , Yong Wei Peng , Sundar Raghav , Kaneda Atsushi , Prabhakar Shyam , Mazur Pawel Karol , Ajani Jaffer A. , Yeoh Khay Guan , So Jimmy Bok-Yan , Tan Patrick ,   Singapore Gastric Cancer Consortium
Published: April 2024

Objective Gastric cancer (GC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality, with ARID1A being the second most frequently mutated driver gene in GC. We sought to decipher ARID1A-specific GC regulatory networks and examine therapeutic vulnerabilities arising from ARID1A loss.

Design Genomic profiling of GC patients including a Singapore cohort (&gt;200 patients) was performed to derive mutational signatures of ARID1A inactivation across molecular subtypes. Single-cell transcriptomic profiles of ARID1A-mutated GCs were analyzed to examine tumor microenvironmental changes arising from ARID1A loss. Genome-wide ARID1A binding and chromatin profiles (H3K27ac, H3K4me3, H3K4me1, ATAC-seq) of gastric cell lines were generated to identify gastric-specific epigenetic landscapes regulated by ARID1A. Distinct cancer hallmarks of ARID1A-mutated GCs were converged at the genomic, single-cell, and epigenomic level, and targeted by pharmacological inhibition.

Results We observed prevalent ARID1A inactivation across GC molecular subtypes, with distinct mutational signatures and linked to a NFKB-driven pro-inflammatory tumour microenvironment. ARID1A-depletion caused loss of H3K27ac activation signals at ARID1A-occupied distal enhancers, but unexpectedly gain of H3K27ac at ARID1A-occupied promoters in genes such as NFKB1 and NFKB2. Promoter activation in ARID1A-mutated GCs was associated with enhanced gene expression, increased BRD4 binding, and reduced HDAC1 and CTCF occupancy. Combined targeting of promoter activation and tumour inflammation via bromodomain and NFKB inhibitors confirmed therapeutic synergy specific to ARID1A-genomic status.

Conclusion Our results suggest a therapeutic strategy for ARID1A-mutated GCs targeting both tumour-intrinsic (BRD4-assocatiated promoter activation) and extrinsic (NFKB immunomodulation) cancer phenotypes.

Citation Format: Chang Xu, Kie Kyon Huang, Jia Hao Law, Joy Shijia Chua, Taotao Sheng, Natasha M. Flores, Melissa Pool Pizzi, Atsushi Okabe, Angie Lay Keng Tan, Feng Zhu, Vikrant Kumar, Xiaoyin Lu, Ana Morales Benitez, Benedict Shi Xiang Lian, Haoran Ma, Shamaine Wei Ting Ho, Kalpana Ramnarayanan, Chukwuemeka George Anene-Nzelu, Milad Razavi-Mohseni, Siti Aishah Binte Abdul Ghani, Su Ting Tay, Xuewen Ong, Ming Hui Lee, Yu Amanda Guo, Hassan Ashktorab, Duane Smoot, Shang Li, Anders Jacobsen Skanderup, Michael A. Beer, Roger Sik Yin Foo, Joel Shi Hao Wong, Kaushal Sanghvi, Wei Peng Yong, Raghav Sundar, Atsushi Kaneda, Shyam Prabhakar, Pawel Karol Mazur, Jaffer A. Ajani, Khay Guan Yeoh, Jimmy Bok-Yan So, Patrick Tan, Singapore Gastric Cancer Consortium. Comprehensive Molecular Phenotyping of ARID1A-deficient Gastric Cancer Reveals Pervasive Epigenomic Reprogramming and Therapeutic Opportunities [abstract]. In: Proceedings of Frontiers in Cancer Science; 2023 Nov 6-8; Singapore. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(8_Suppl):Abstract nr P28.