On-treatment Biomarkers in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer for Life

By virtue of an increased strategic use of cytotoxic and biological agents, and more options for locoregional treatment, the survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) has improved considerably in the past decades. The personalized approach to systemic treatment is further aided by the use of complementary molecular biomarkers. However, the evolutionary dynamics of mCRC, a disease harnessed by multiple adaptive genetic alterations towards its final stages, poses a particular challenge to single-sample biomarker analyses and standardized linear treatment protocols. The aim of the On-treatment biomarkers in metastatic ColorectAL cancer for Life (On-CALL) study is to generate further knowledge on the evolutionary progression of mCRC during treatment, and to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic failure still seen in a substantial number of patients.

The On-CALL study is a prospective, single-arm observational study. All patients diagnosed with synchronous mCRC treated with curative intent at Skåne University Hospital will be invited to participate. Clinical and histopathological data will be compiled at study entry. An individual tissue microarray block with samples from resected primary tumours and metastases representing the full extent of the tumour spread will be constructed for each patient. Blood samples will be drawn for biomarker analyses at multiple time points prior to, during and after systemic treatment. DNA sequencing of tumour tissue and circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) will be performed to define the spatial clonal landscape in primary tumours and metastases, as well as over time.

The aim of the On-treatment biomarkers in metastatic ColorectAL cancer for Life (On-CALL) study is to generate further knowledge on the evolutionary progression of mCRC during treatment with curative intent, and to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic failure still seen in a substantial number of patients.

The specific objectives are:

* To comprehensively characterise the spatial intertumoural, intermetastatic and intrametastatic genetic heterogeneity
* To delineate differences in the prevalence and type of genetic heterogeneity, as well as tumour evolvability, according to metastatic site
* To examine the associations between spatial and temporal heterogeneity
* To examine ctDNA quantity and quality as an early biomarker for response to neoadjuvant treatment
* To examine ctDNA quantity and quality as an early biomarker for response to adjuvant treatment
* To evaluate the relationship between phylogenetic patterns, i.e. the tumour evolvability, and survival in relation to different treatment modalities
* To examine the heterogeneity of the tumour microenvironment in relation to the genetic heterogeneity and evolvability of the tumours
* To examine circulating immune cells and inflammatory biomarkers, and their relationship with the genetic and microenvironmental heterogeneity of the tumours
* To delineate parallel events at the transcriptomic and proteomic levels, with particular reference to their potential utility as clinically relevant surrogate biomarkers of genetic alterations underlying the evolvability of the tumours

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Clinical diagnosis of synchronous metastatic colorectal cancer, planned cancer treatment with curative intent at the Skåne University Hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

* Not accepting the study inclusion terms (informed consent not obtained)
* Age below or above the age limit