25 Background: Comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) by next-generation sequencing (NGS) of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from plasma provides a minimally invasive method to identify targetable genomic alterations (GAs) and resistance mechanisms in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The circulating tumor fraction in patients with mCRPC and the clinical validity of GAs detected in plasma remain unknown. We evaluated the landscape of GAs using ctDNA-based CGP and assessed concordance with tissue-based CGP. Methods: Plasma from 3,334 patients with advanced prostate cancer (including 1,674 mCRPC screening samples from the TRITON2/3 trials and 1,660 samples from routine clinical CGP) was analyzed using hybrid-capture-based gene panel NGS assays. Results were compared with CGP of 2,006 metastatic prostate cancer tissue biopsies. Concordance was evaluated in 837 patients with both tissue (archival or contemporaneous) and plasma NGS results. Results: 3,127 patients [94%] had detectable ctDNA. BRCA1/2 were mutated in 295 patients [8.8%]. In concordance analysis, 72/837 [8.6%] patients had BRCA1/2 mutations detected in tissue, 67 [93%] of whom were also identified by ctDNA, and 20 patients were identified using ctDNA but not tissue [23% of all patients identified using ctDNA]. ctDNA detected subclonal BRCA1/2 reversions in 10 of 1,660 [0.6%] routine clinical CGP samples. AR alterations, including amplifications and hotspot mutations, which were detected in 940/2,213 patients [42%]. Rare AR compound mutations, rearrangements, and novel in-frame deletions were identified. Altered pathways included PI3K/AKT/mTOR [14%], WNT/β-catenin [17%], and RAS/RAF/MEK [5%]. Microsatellite instability was detected in 31/2,213 patients [1.4%]. Conclusions: In the largest study of mCRPC plasma samples conducted to date, CGP of ctDNA recapitulated the genomic landscape detected in tissue biopsies, with a high level of agreement in detection of BRCA1/2 alterations. It also identified patients who may have gained somatic BRCA1/2 alterations since archival tissue was collected. ctDNA detected more acquired resistance GAs than tissue, including novel AR-activating variants. The large percentage of patients with rich genomic signal from ctDNA, and the sensitive, specific detection of BRCA1/2 alterations position liquid biopsy as a compelling clinical complement to tissue CGP for patients with mCRPC.
Genomic alterations in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) are associated with clinical outcomes in treatment-naive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients commencing androgen receptor (AR)-targeted therapy
