Abstract 743: Detection of TERT C228T and C250T promoter mutations in melanoma tumor and plasma samples using novel mutation-specific droplet digital PCR assays

Author(s):  
Broderick Corless ◽  
Gregory Chang ◽  
Samantha Cooper ◽  
Mahrukh Syeda ◽  
Iman Osman ◽  
...  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Broderick C. Corless ◽  
Gregory A. Chang ◽  
Samantha Cooper ◽  
Mahrukh M. Syeda ◽  
Yongzhao Shao ◽  
...  

Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luc Cabel ◽  
Charles Decraene ◽  
Ivan Bieche ◽  
Jean-Yves Pierga ◽  
Mostefa Bennamoun ◽  
...  

This study was designed to monitor circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) levels during perioperative chemotherapy in patients with non-metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma. Plasma samples were prospectively collected in patients undergoing perioperative chemotherapy for non-metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma (excluding T1N0) prior to the initiation of perioperative chemotherapy, before and after surgery (NCT02220556). In each patient, mutations retrieved by targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) on tumor samples were then tracked in circulating cell-free DNA from 4 mL of plasma by droplet digital PCR. Thirty-two patients with a diagnosis of non-metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma were included. A trackable mutation was identified in the tumor in 20 patients, seven of whom experienced relapse during follow-up. ctDNA was detectable in four patients (N = 4/19, sensitivity: 21%; 95% confidence interval CI = 8.5–43%, no baseline plasma sample was available for one patient), with a median allelic frequency (MAF) of 1.6% (range: 0.8–2.3%). No patient with available plasma samples (N = 0/18) had detectable ctDNA levels before surgery. After surgery, one of the 13 patients with available plasma samples had a detectable ctDNA level with a low allelic frequency (0.7%); this patient experienced a very short-term distant relapse only 3 months after surgery. No ctDNA was detected after surgery in the other four patients with available plasma samples who experienced a later relapse (median = 14.4, range: 9.3–26 months). ctDNA monitoring during preoperative chemotherapy and after surgery does not appear to be a useful tool in clinical practice for non-metastatic gastric cancer to predict the efficacy of chemotherapy and subsequent relapse, essentially due to the poor sensitivity of ctDNA detection.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0239819
Author(s):  
Matilda Holm ◽  
Emma Andersson ◽  
Emerik Osterlund ◽  
Ali Ovissi ◽  
Leena-Maija Soveri ◽  
...  

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is released from cancer cells and oncogenic mutations in ctDNA can be measured from plasma samples. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) is a sensitive and specific method for the detection of mutations in ctDNA. We analyzed serial plasma samples (n = 80) from ten metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients with a known KRAS mutation in their primary tumor. The patients were undergoing oncological treatment with bevacizumab in combination with alternating capecitabine and oxaliplatin or irinotecan. Baseline ddPCR KRAS mutation allele frequency (MAF) values ranged from 0% to 63%. The first radiologic response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST) evaluation was performed 45–63 days after the initiation of treatment, and by this time three patients had an undetectable level of KRAS mutation, one had a MAF value of 0.5%, and one had a MAF value of 3% that had been reduced by 95% from the baseline value. In three of these patients the RECIST assessment was stable disease and in two partial response. In seven patients, ddPCR MAF values increased before radiological disease progression or death, while one patient remained disease-free with an undetectable KRAS mutation level. Next, we analyzed all available plasma samples with the Idylla ctKRAS system (n = 60), and found that the overall degree of agreement between ddPCR and Idylla was almost perfect (kappa value = 0.860). We used next-generation sequencing (NGS) to detect treatment-induced mutations in the last serial plasma sample of each patient, but were unable to find any new mutations when compared to the primary tumor. This study shows that ddPCR and Idylla are equally efficient for the detection of KRAS mutations in the liquid biopsies from mCRC patients and that ctDNA may indicate the disappearance of treatment responsive KRAS positive mCRC clones and serve as an early sign of disease progression.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuelle Jeannot ◽  
Lauren Darrigues ◽  
Marc Michel ◽  
Marc-Henri Stern ◽  
Jean-Yves Pierga ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundActivating mutations in the estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) gene are recurrent mechanisms of acquired resistance to aromatase inhibitors (AI), and may be the target of other selective estrogen receptor down-regulators. To assess the clinical utility of monitoring ESR1 resistant mutations, a droplet digital PCR (ddPCR)-based assay compatible with body fluids is ideal due to its cost-effectiveness and quick turnaround.MethodsWe designed a multiplex ddPCR, which combines a drop-off assay, targeting the clustered hotspot mutations found in exon 8, with another pair of probes interrogating the E380Q mutation in exon 5. We assessed its sensitivity in vitro using synthetic oligonucleotides, harboring E380Q, L536R, Y537C, Y537N, Y537S or D538G mutations. Validation of the assay was performed on plasma samples from a prospective study and compared to next generation sequencing (NGS) data.ResultsThe multiplex ESR1-ddPCR showed a high sensitivity with a limit of detection ranging from 0.07 to 0.19% in mutant allele frequency depending on the mutation tested. The screening of plasma samples from patients with AI-resistant metastatic breast cancer identified ESR1 mutations in 29% of them with perfect concordance (and higher sensitivity) to NGS data obtained in parallel. Additionally, this test identifies patients harboring polyclonal alterations. Furthermore, the monitoring of ctDNA using this technique during treatment follow-up predicts the radiological response to palbociclib-fulvestrant.ConclusionThe multiplex ESR1-ddPCR detects, in a single reaction, the most frequent ESR1 activating mutations and is compatible with plasma samples. This method is thus suitable for real-time ESR1 mutation monitoring in large cohorts of patients.Statement of translational relevanceExons 5 and 8 mutations in ESR1 are recurrent mechanisms of resistance to aromatase inhibitors (AI) in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive metastatic breast cancer and may be targeted by selective ER down-regulators. We implemented a novel droplet digital PCR, which allows for the detection of the most frequent ESR1 mutations in circulating cell-free DNA. In prospectively collected plasma samples, ESR1 mutations were found in 29% of AI-resistant patients, with excellent concordance and higher sensitivity to next generation sequencing. Moreover, circulating ESR1 mutations appear to be reliable markers for ctDNA monitoring in order to predict treatment response. Ultimately, the short turnaround time, high sensitivity and limited cost of the ESR1-ddPCR are compatible with repeated samplings to detect the onset of resistance to AI before the radiological progression. This opens a window of opportunity to develop new clinical strategies for breast cancer hormone therapy, as tested in an ongoing phase 3 trial.List of abbreviationsAIAromatase InhibitorcfDNACell-free DNActDNACirculating tumor DNAddPCRDroplet digital PCRER+ HER2-MBCER+ HER2-negative Metastatic Breast CancerEREstrogen ReceptorER+Estrogen Receptor positiveLOBLimit of blankLODLimit of detectionMAFMutant Allele FrequencyPBMCPeripheral blood mononuclear cellsPDProgressive diseaseSDStandard deviationToPTime of progressionWTWild typeHuman genesESR1: Estrogen Receptor 1HER2: Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2EGFR: Epithelial Growth Factor ReceptorKRAS: KRAS proto-oncogene, GTPaseBRAF: B-Raf Proto-Oncogene, Serine/Threonine kinase


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Ismail Hosen ◽  
Nathalie Forey ◽  
Geoffroy Durand ◽  
Catherine Voegele ◽  
Selin Bilici ◽  
...  

Somatic mutations in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter regions are frequent events in urothelial cancer (UC) and their detection in urine (supernatant cell-free DNA or DNA from exfoliated cells) could serve as putative non-invasive biomarkers for UC detection and monitoring. However, detecting these tumor-borne mutations in urine requires highly sensitive methods, capable of measuring low-level mutations. In this study, we developed sensitive droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assays for detecting TERT promoter mutations (C228T, C228A, CC242-243TT, and C250T). We tested the C228T and C250T ddPCR assays on all samples with sufficient quantity of urinary DNA (urine supernatant cell-free DNA (US cfDNA) or urine pellet cellular DNA (UP cellDNA)) from the DIAGURO (n = 89/93 cases and n = 92/94 controls) and from the IPO-PORTO (n = 49/50 cases and n = 50/50 controls) series that were previously screened with the UroMuTERT assay and compared the performance of the two approaches. In the DIAGURO series, the sensitivity and specificity of the ddPCR assays for detecting UC using either US cfDNA or UP cellDNA were 86.8% and 92.4%. The sensitivity was slightly higher than that of the UroMuTERT assay in the IPO-PORTO series (67.4% vs. 65.3%, respectively), but not in the DIAGURO series (86.8% vs. 90.7%). The specificity was 100% in the IPO-PORTO controls for both the UroMuTERT and ddPCR assays, whereas in the DIAGURO series, the specificity dropped for ddPCR (92.4% versus 95.6%). Overall, an almost perfect agreement between the two methods was observed for both US cfDNA (n = 164; kappa coefficient of 0.91) and UP cellDNA (n = 280; kappa coefficient of 0.94). In a large independent series of serial urine samples from DIAGURO follow-up BC cases (n = 394), the agreement between ddPCR and UroMuTERT was (i) strong (kappa coefficient of 0.87), regardless of urine DNA types (kappa coefficient 0.89 for US cfDNA and 0.85 for UP cellDNA), (ii) the highest for samples with mutant allelic fractions (MAFs) > 2% (kappa coefficient of 0.99) and (iii) only minimal for the samples with the lowest MAFs (< 0.5%; kappa coefficient 0.32). Altogether, our results indicate that the two methods (ddPCR and UroMuTERT) for detecting urinary TERT promoter mutations are comparable and that the discrepancies relate to the detection of low-allelic fraction mutations. The simplicity of the ddPCR assays makes them suitable for implementation in clinical settings.


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