Abstract 4119: Genomic and immune characteristics of EGFR subtypes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
Authors: Bodor J. Nicholas , Xiu Joanne , Ernani Vinicius , Kaur Supreet , Mamdani Hirva , Brodskiy Pavel , Ou Sai-Hong I. , Ma Patrick C. , Clapper Margie L. , Korn W. Michael , Treat Joseph 
Published: June 2022

Background: While most EGFR-mutant NSCLC tumors are resistant to checkpoint inhibitors, a small subset has durable responses. Certain molecular subtypes of EGFR may be more responsive. There is a lack of clarity on the genomic and immune profiles of EGFR subtypes, and further elucidation of this may assist in optimally identifying those likely to respond to immune-based therapies.

Methods: Profiles of 5,510 lung adenocarcinoma specimens were obtained utilizing next-generation sequencing of 592 genes (Caris Life Sciences) and categorized by EGFR subtype. PD-L1 expression (Ab: 22c3), tumor mutational burden (TMB), immune cell type fractions, and co-mutations in TP53 were assessed by EGFR subtype and compared to wild-type (WT) tumors.

Results: Of the total cohort, 791 (14.4%) were EGFR-mutant (Table). Among EGFR-mutant tumors, exon 19 deletions were most common (49.7%), followed by L858R, (32.9%), exon 20 insertions (13.0%), L861Q (2.9%), and G719X (1.5%). PD-L1 positivity of each EGFR subtype as compared to WT did not vary, except for L858R tumors which had a significantly lower percentage of PD-L1 positive cases. Exon 19 deletion, L858R, and exon 20 insertion tumors were significantly less likely to have high PD-L1 or high TMB compared to WT. Among the EGFR subtypes, L861Q and G719X tumors had the greatest percentage with high TMB. TP53 co-mutations were frequent in EGFR tumors, especially among L861Q and G719X tumors. Exon 19 deletion and L858R tumors had significantly less CD8+ and greater CD4+ T cell fractions compared to WT. Neutrophil and M2 macrophage cell fractions were significantly higher in exon 19 deletion, L858R, and exon 20 insertion tumors compared to WT.

Conclusions: Most subtypes of EGFR have profiles consistent with decreased immunogenicity; however L861Q and C719X tumors have a greater percentage with high TMB or TP53 co-mutations. Such features in uncommon EGFR subtypes may correlate with responsiveness to immune-based therapies and warrant further study.

Tumor Characteristic EGFR WT(n=4719) Exon 19 del(n=393) L858R(n=260) Exon 20 ins(n=103) L861Q(n=23) G719X(n=12) PD-L1 positive (≥1%) 57.7% 51.0% 49.0% a 49.5% 47.8% 50.0% PD-L1 high (≥50%) 30.6% 19.7% a 18.8% a 14.4% a 21.7% 16.7% TMB high (≥10 mut/Mb) 35.3% 1.0% a 3.7% a 1.0% a 9.5% 18.2% TP53 co-mutation 53.9% 61.7% 63.6% a 59.2% a 69.6% a 83.3% a Median % cell fraction CD8+ 0.7 0.3 a 0.4 a 0.3 0.6 0.2 CD4+ 0.0 0.6 a 0.8 a 1.3 a 1.7 1.1 Neutrophils 5.5 8.0 a 7.3 a 7.8 a 7.4 6.4 M2 macrophages 5.5 6.4a 6.9a 6.7a 5.8 4.3 aq-value &lt; 0.05 when compared to EGFR WT (corrected for multiple comparisons)

Citation Format: J. Nicholas Bodor, Joanne Xiu, Vinicius Ernani, Supreet Kaur, Hirva Mamdani, Pavel Brodskiy, Sai-Hong I. Ou, Patrick C. Ma, Margie L. Clapper, W. Michael Korn, Joseph Treat. Genomic and immune characteristics of EGFR subtypes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 4119.