Abstract LB094: Assessment of minimal residual disease in lung cancer patients treated with osimertinib using liquid biopsy
Authors: Delahaye Celia , Casanova Anne , Clermont-Tarenchon Estelle , Doussine Aurelia , Cerapio Juan-Pablo , Anton Anaïs , Devienne Emma , Dongay Vincent , Milia Julie , Favre Gilles , Calvayrac Olivier , Pradines Anne , Mazieres Julien 
Published: April 2024

Purpose: Drug tolerance has emerged as one of the major mechanisms driving resistance to targeted therapies (TT), but a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics and molecular heterogeneity underlying the adaptive drug response in patients is still lacking. Here, we used iterative liquid biopsies from osimertinib-treated lung cancer patients to monitor and characterize minimal residual disease (MRD) using both circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and circulating tumor cells (CTC).

Experimental design: LUNG-RESIST (NCT04222335) is a prospective research study enrolling EGFR-mutant adenocarcinoma patients treated by osimertinib frontline. We collected blood samples at baseline, 1 month and every 3 months until progression. CtDNA was used to monitor the initial EGFR mutation (EGFRm) by digital PCR, and to identify new potential biomarkers of resistance by next-generation sequencing (NGS). CTC were enriched and isolated based on their size, absence of leucocyte staining and viability, to perform single-cell transcriptomic and genomic analyses.

Results: 40 patients have been enrolled with a median progression-free survival (mPFS) of 14.5 months (95%CI, 8.5-24.5 months). 28/40 (70%) patients had detectable EGFRm in ctDNA at baseline, and decreased ctDNA level could be measured in 25/26 (96%) patients after 1 month of treatment, with a complete clearance in 15/26 (58%) patients. 7/11 (64%) patients without clearance at 1 month relapsed within 9 months. Clinical relapse could be anticipated 3 months ahead based on ctDNA increase for 9/20 (45%) patients. CTC-like cells have been collected at baseline and MRD (between 1 and 3 months) from respectively 31/40 (78%) and 29/40 (73%) patients, and at clinical progression for 12/22 (54%) patients who relapsed, for a total number of 1,510 cells. The number of CTC-like cells decreased after 1 month of treatment in 18/29 (62%) patients, and increased again in 7/12 (58%) patients at the time of clinical relapse. The results of NGS analyses on ctDNA and single-cell transcriptomic and genomic analyses on CTC will be presented at the congress, and should provide a better insight into the dynamics of molecular events occurring throughout the adaptive response in patients.

Conclusion: We report the first molecular profiling of both ctDNA and CTC during the adaptive response to osimertinib in lung cancer patients. Monitoring the response and predicting the clinical outcome for EGFR-mutant lung cancer patients undergoing TT treatment can be done using ctDNA level as a biomarker. The isolation of CTC-like cells represents a non-invasive approach to study drug tolerance and ultimately develop new combinatory treatments to prevent relapse.

Citation Format: Celia Delahaye, Anne Casanova, Estelle Clermont-Tarenchon, Aurelia Doussine, Juan-Pablo Cerapio, Anaïs Anton, Emma Devienne, Vincent Dongay, Julie Milia, Gilles Favre, Olivier Calvayrac, Anne Pradines, Julien Mazieres. Assessment of minimal residual disease in lung cancer patients treated with osimertinib using liquid biopsy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 2 (Late-Breaking, Clinical Trial, and Invited Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(7_Suppl):Abstract nr LB094.