365 Background: COXEN (Co-eXpression ExtrapolatioN) uses molecular profiles as a “rosetta stone” for translating drug sensitivities of one set of cancers into predictions for another completely independent set of cell lines or human tumors. The ability of COXEN to predict drug effectiveness in pts using tumor samples from in vitro assays is unique. Methods: We tested the predictive value of COXEN for standard chemotherapies in a cohort of bladder cancer pts. Total RNA was extracted from formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue and converted to cDNA, amplified with Ovation FFPE WTA, and hybridized to a GeneChip Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 array. Using gene expression data from 278 independent bladder tumors, COXEN scores were generated using bioinformatics models originally built using the NCI-60 cell line panel and a model building algorithm (MiPP). Gene expression data was processed to score 76 FDA approved antineoplastic drugs. Results: A total of 24 samples were tested (15 tumors with 1 sample and 9 tumors with 2 biological replicas (2 samples from the same tumor)) from 15 pts who received chemotherapy (median age 64 (41-74); 73% male; with muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) (12/15, 80%) or metastatic bladder cancer (mBC) (3/15, 20%)). Response to therapy was confirmed by pathologic response in MIBC pts and radiologic response in mBC pts. Chemotherapies evaluated included: methotrexate/vinblastine/doxorubicin/cisplatin; gemcitabine/cisplatin; gemcitabine/carboplatin; and cisplatin/etoposide. COXEN accurately predicted antineoplastic drug sensitivity in 11/15 (73%) pts (75% MIBC and 67% mBC), of which 7/11 pts had 2 biological samples. However, only 3/7 (43%) biological replicas confirmed COXEN prediction. COXEN accurately predicted drug sensitivity in 9/10 (90%) pts with response and 2/5 (40%) pts with resistance to therapy. Conclusions: COXEN did well in predicting antineoplastic drug response for the majority of bladder cancer pts in this cohort. However, predictions from 2 samples within the same tumor were not always consistent, likely due to the expected tumor heterogeneity found in bladder cancer tumors. A prospective clinical trial in patients with mBC using COXEN to select next best therapy is in development.
