Abstract 971: Thymidine Kinase activity - A liquid biomarker reflecting proliferation rate and treatment efficacy in solid tumors provides unique guidance in oncology trials and drug development
Authors: Bergqvist Mattias K. , Ritzén Hanna , Williams Amy 
Published: April 2023

Thymidine Kinase (TK) plays a fundamental role in DNA synthesis and cell proliferation. Expression of the enzyme is highly cell cycle dependent and correlates with cell growth state. TK activity (TKa) is present in all proliferating cells but release into blood circulation is low or absent from quiescent cells. Numerous studies have shown TKa to be elevated in solid tumors as well as in the blood of cancer patients with active disease. DiviTum® TKa, a clinically and analytically validated FDA cleared assay, can measure and quantify TKa in serum or plasma isolated from human and animal blood samples. TKa as a biomarker offers valuable information at all stages of drug development; from drug efficacy and dose response studies in cell culture and tumor xenograft models, to patient selection and treatment monitoring in clinical trials. Using TKa to measure the impact on cell proliferation as a drug evaluation endpoint can confirm mechanism of action efficacy and the minimally effective dose of a new compound rather than a maximally tolerated dose. In both cultured cells and mouse xenografts, a complete shutdown of tumor cell proliferation (assessed by TKa) can be observed well before and at much lower doses than when cell death or toxicity is used as the dose determination endpoint.

The TKa-biomarker can also be used as a pharmacodynamic tool in clinical trials to improve study endpoints. Patient baseline levels (BL) of TKa are predictive/prognostic and can be used to identify which patients will respond to the therapy being tested vs those who will not. In metastatic breast cancer, a BL TKa value of &lt;250 DuA is significantly correlated with longer PFS (HR=1.76, p&lt;0.0001) and OS (HR=2.38, p&lt;0.0001) independent of patient and disease characteristics. On-therapy TKa levels and dynamics can be used in clinical trials to evaluate response to a drug as early as two weeks into the first cycle. In patients receiving CDK4/6 inhibitors, TKa levels &gt;140 DuA at cycle 1 day 15 predicts for lack of benefit to the drug (HR=5.65, p&lt;0.0001).

TKa can also be used as a predictive biomarker for drugs that cause an immune reaction and increase in cell proliferation such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). When effective, ICIs cause an increase in immune cell proliferation which can be detected by elevated levels of TKa. Patients who do not achieve &gt;1.5 fold change in TKa levels as compared to BL, have a significantly shorter duration of response to an ICI (HR=3.70, p=0.002) and patients with high TKa during ICI treatment have significantly longer OS (HR=3.49, p&lt;0.05).

In summary, TKa is a translational liquid biomarker that can bridge between preclinical and clinical studies, providing fundamental information for decision making during early and late stage drug development. Data and examples of the utility of TKa as a companion diagnostic for drug development will be presented.

Citation Format: Mattias K. Bergqvist, Hanna Ritzén, Amy Williams. Thymidine Kinase activity - A liquid biomarker reflecting proliferation rate and treatment efficacy in solid tumors provides unique guidance in oncology trials and drug development [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 971.