Abstract P3-05-45: Circulating tumor cells, immunohistochemical subtypes, and genes mutation as prognostic markers in HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer patients candidates to chemotherapy
Authors: Risi Emanuela , Pestrin Marta , Biagioni Chiara , Romagnoli Dario , Migliaccio Ilenia , Galardi Francesca , De Luca Francesca , Benelli Matteo , Moretti Erica , Sanna Giuseppina , Livraghi Luca , Cappadona Silvia , Marsico Roberta Di , Amoroso Domenico , Martignetti Angelo , Ribecco Angela S. , Caremoli Elena Rota , Coltelli Luigi , Puglisi Fabio , Malorni Luca , Biganzoli Laura 
Published: March 2023

Background: In the era of targeted therapies, chemotherapy (CT) is still a valuable treatment option for patients (pts) with HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The identification of predictive and prognostic markers might improve treatment response and survival. Here we investigated the role of tumor subtypes, circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and mutations in genes or pathways of interest, in predicting response to CT and prognosis of HER2 negative MBC pts within AARES trial. Methods: AARES is an open label multicentric randomised phase 2 trial comparing a DNA-damaging (arm A: cisplatin 25 mg/m2/day, day 1-3 + cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 day 1) versus (vs) a non-DNA-damaging (arm B: capecitabine 1000 mg/m2 bid/day, day 1-14 + vinorelbine 60 mg/m2/day, day 1,8) CT regimen in pts with HER2 negative MBC. Archival tumor tissue samples and blood samples were collected at baseline. The Cell SearchTM system was used for CTCs isolation and enumeration and a cut-off of 5 CTC/7,5 ml was used. Tumor subtypes were based on locally assessed hormone receptors and HER2 status. The luminal-like subtype (Lum) was defined by ER or PR positivity, while the triple negative subtype (TN) by ER, PR, and HER2 negativity. Tissue samples were used for DNA extraction and next generation sequencing analysis using a target enrichment panel of 170 genes (TruSight 170, Illumina). Primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) assessed for the two treatment arms. Progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated as secondary endpoints, and estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method. ORR, PFS and OS were correlated with CTC counts, tumor subtypes, and mutational status of genes/pathway of interest (PIK3CA, TP53, BRCA1, BRCA2, PI3K/AKT pathway (PI3K/AKT)). Results: AARES enrolled 102 pts from 2011 to 2016 across 9 Italian centers. Of these, 77 pts were evaluable for ORR. Median follow up was 32 months. Overall, median age was 57. The majority of pts had Lum tumors (73%), while 27% had TN. 86% of pts had visceral metastases, and 52% had 3 or more metastatic sites. 48% of pts received the study treatment as 1st line, 32% as 2nd line, and 19% as 3rd line. Out of the 77 pts with ORR data, 41 (53%) were CTC- and 36 (47%) CTC+. A larger proportion of pts with Lum tumors were CTC+ (54% n=30), while TN tumors were mainly CTC- (71% n=15). 49 pts had adequate tumor tissue for sequencing analysis. TP53 mutations (mut) were found in 33% of pts, BRCA1/2 mut in 14%, PIK3CA mut in 35%, and PI3K/AKT mut in 47%. ORR was 24% and 37% in arm A vs arm B, respectively (p= 0.2), and no difference in ORR was observed by tumor subtypes (Lum vs TN), and CTCs count (+ vs -). PFS and OS were assessable on the whole population (n=102) and did not significantly differ by treatment arms. Median OS (mOS) was higher in Lum pts compared to TN (24 months (mo) vs 15.4 mo, p=0.048) while median PFS (mPFS) did not differ according to tumor subtypes (p=0.28). Overall, CTCs count was not significantly associated with mPFS or OS however in pts with TN tumors and CTC-, mPFS and mOS were significantly longer (mPFS: 4.44 mo vs 2.56 mo in CTC- and CTC+ subgroups, respectively, p=0.00087 and mOS: 22.07 mo vs 3.57 mo in CTC- and CTC+ subgroups, respectively, p&lt; 0.0001). On the other hand, no differences were observed in Lum pts categorized according to CTC status (p=0.83 for mPFS, p=0.54 for mOS). Finally, pts with PI3K/AKT mut had a significantly worse PFS compared to wild type in the overall population (p=0.0091) as well as in Lum (p=0.034) and TN pts (p=0.0052). Conclusions: CTCs and tumor subtypes were not predictive of response to CT regimens in HER2 negative MBC pts. A number of CTC &gt;5 in TN MBC, and mutations in the PI3K/AKT pathway, identified a subgroup of pts with worse prognosis, potentially candidates for alternative treatments. Further studies are needed to confirm these results in a larger population.

Citation Format: Emanuela Risi, Marta Pestrin, Chiara Biagioni, Dario Romagnoli, Ilenia Migliaccio, Francesca Galardi, Francesca De Luca, Matteo Benelli, Erica Moretti, Giuseppina Sanna, Luca Livraghi, Silvia Cappadona, Roberta Di Marsico, Domenico Amoroso, Angelo Martignetti, Angela S. Ribecco, Elena Rota Caremoli, Luigi Coltelli, Fabio Puglisi, Luca Malorni, Laura Biganzoli. Circulating tumor cells, immunohistochemical subtypes, and genes mutation as prognostic markers in HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer patients candidates to chemotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-05-45.