scholarly journals Future Options of Molecular-Targeted Therapy in Small Cell Lung Cancer

Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arik Bernard Schulze ◽  
Georg Evers ◽  
Andrea Kerkhoff ◽  
Michael Mohr ◽  
Christoph Schliemann ◽  
...  

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. With a focus on histology, there are two major subtypes: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (the more frequent subtype), and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (the more aggressive one). Even though SCLC, in general, is a chemosensitive malignancy, relapses following induction therapy are frequent. The standard of care treatment of SCLC consists of platinum-based chemotherapy in combination with etoposide that is subsequently enhanced by PD-L1-inhibiting atezolizumab in the extensive-stage disease, as the addition of immune-checkpoint inhibition yielded improved overall survival. Although there are promising molecular pathways with potential therapeutic impacts, targeted therapies are still not an integral part of routine treatment. Against this background, we evaluated current literature for potential new molecular candidates such as surface markers (e.g., DLL3, TROP-2 or CD56), apoptotic factors (e.g., BCL-2, BET), genetic alterations (e.g., CREBBP, NOTCH or PTEN) or vascular markers (e.g., VEGF, FGFR1 or CD13). Apart from these factors, the application of so-called ‘poly-(ADP)-ribose polymerases’ (PARP) inhibitors can influence tumor repair mechanisms and thus offer new perspectives for future treatment. Another promising therapeutic concept is the inhibition of ‘enhancer of zeste homolog 2’ (EZH2) in the loss of function of tumor suppressors or amplification of (proto-) oncogenes. Considering the poor prognosis of SCLC patients, new molecular pathways require further investigation to augment our therapeutic armamentarium in the future.

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 8559-8559
Author(s):  
Naoki Furuya ◽  
Shigeki Umemura ◽  
Hibiki Udagawa ◽  
Tadasuke Shimokawaji ◽  
Takashi Seto ◽  
...  

8559 Background: A variety of genetic analyses have been performed in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), however the clinical relevance of them remains unclear. We prospectively analyzed clinical samples of small-cell lung cancer using a nationwide genomic screening project (LC-SCRUM-Japan). Methods: Submitted tumor samples were subjected to a next-generation sequencing (NGS) system, Oncomine™ Comprehensive Assay, enabling the simultaneous analysis of 143 (ver.1) or 161 (ver.3) cancer-related genes. Results: From July 2015 to January 2019, 707 SCLC patients had been enrolled. The median age was 68 years. 77% were male and 94% were smokers. Among 588 samples completed analysis, we identified high prevalence of inactivating TP53/RB1 mutations in 426 (72%) /194 (33%) of cases, respectively. MYC/MYCL1/MYCN amplifications were detected in 21 (4%) /30 (5%) /9 (2%) of cases, respectively. This NGS analysis also showed that 32 (5%) of cases had well-known genetic alterations in receptor tyrosine kinase genes: 9 EGFR mutations, 9 KRAS mutations and 14 FGFR1 copy number gains. Mutations in the PI3K pathway were detected in 44 (7%) of the tumors. Among them, 8 cases enrolled in the investigator-initiated phase II study of gedatolisib (UMIN 000020585). Survival data was available in 463 patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy. Multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of PIK3CA mutation (HR; 2.56; 95% CI 1.19 – 5.52; p = 0.016) and MYCN amplification (HR; 4.36; 95% CI 1.91 – 9.97; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with unfavorable survival. The frequency of amplifications in MYC family genes was higher in the samples obtained ≥ 90 days after the first-line platinum-based chemotherapy (18.1%) than in those < 90 days (8.1%, p = 0.01), suggesting MYC family amplification as one of the resistance mechanisms. Conclusions: This large-scale nationwide screening system is helpful for identifying therapeutically relevant genetic alterations, prognostic prediction, and exploring resistance mechanism in SCLC. Updated screening results will be presented at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting. Clinical trial information: UMIN000018656.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e20509-e20509
Author(s):  
Minglei Zhuo ◽  
Xin Liu ◽  
Rongrong Chen ◽  
Xiong Xu ◽  
Bin Ni

e20509 Background: The protein encoded by Stromal Antigen 2 ( STAG2) gene is a subunit of the cohesin complex, which regulates the separation of sister chromatids during cell division. Loss-of-function (LOF) mutations of STAG2 gene are commonly detected in different tumors including non-small-cell lung cancer. However, there is no relevant research on the impact of STAG2 alterations on lung cancer treatment. Here we explored the correlation between the LOF of STAG2 and clinical features, concomitant genetic alterations and treatment in NSCLC pts. Methods: A total of 2882 NSCLC pts were enrolled. All the tissue samples were detected by DNA based next generation sequencing (NGS) with a 1021 gene panel. Clinical information was obtained synchronously from physicians and surgeons. According to whether LOF of STAG2 is detected, pts were divided into LOF subgroup and wild type (WT) group. Results: All pts enrolled are Chinese, and median age at diagnosis of them is 63±11.21. Compared to the WT subgroup, a higher average TMB was observed in the LOF group (12.64muts/Mb vs. 6.66mut/Mb, P<0.05). Between the LOF group and the WT group, there were no significantly difference in all clinical baseline characteristics including age at diagnosis, gender, tumor stage and pathological type. At the time of sample collection, there was no significant difference between the two groups of pts whether they had received systemic treatment (chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy) and systemic treatment, and the number of systemic treatment lines received. Neither significant differences in driver gene alteration and other accompanying mutations were observed in the two groups. Conclusions: In NSCLC pts, LOF of STAG2 is not a change after drug resistance, but it may lead to an increase in TMB, which indicates that these pts may have more benefits from immunotherapy. But the influence on prognosis of NSCLC pts needs further research to clarify.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e21049-e21049
Author(s):  
Weiwei Li ◽  
Yuan Qiu ◽  
Hanzhang Chen ◽  
Haihong Yang ◽  
Qiuhua Deng ◽  
...  

e21049 Background: Inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway has emerged as a promising anticancer strategy. Measuring genetic alterations in PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway are critical for clinical decision making for patients with lung cancer. This study aims to analyze PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway-related gene mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a consecutive cohort. Methods: 536 surgically resected tumor tissues were collected. Target region capture sequencing for 508 cancer-related genes was conducted on MGI-seq 2000 platform. Results: PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway genes were mutated in 120 samples (22.4%). Female or older patients displayed higher mutation incidence of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway (P = 0.06 for female, P = 0.05 for patients ≥60 y). In NSCLC samples, mutations mainly occurred in NF1/2(18/499), PTEN (7/499), MTOR (4/499), TSC1/2(18/499), PIK3CA (26/499), PDK1 (2/499), AKT1/2/3 (5/499) and KRAS (49/499) genes. Genetic alterations of AKT2 (p = 0.003), mTOR (P = 0.03), PTEN (P = 0.005) and PIK3CA (P < 0.001) are preferred to occur in squamous NSCLC. PIK3CA variants (p.E542K, p.E545K, p.Q546K) were more enriched in non-squamous NSCLC, while amplification of PIK3CA was more prevalent in squamous NSCLC (P = 0.038). Histologically, TSC1/2 mutations were more correlate with micro-invasion subtype in non-squamous NSCLC (P = 0.002). Meanwhile, PIK3CA alterations, especially, amplification occurred more often in keratinizing squamous NSCLC (P < 0.001). In addition, four patients with biallelic NF1 loss of function mutations were exclusively found in non-squamous NSCLC without co-occurrence of mutation in known driver genes like EGFR or TP53, which indicated biallelic loss of function of NF1 might be sufficient to drive oncogenesis of non-squamous NSCLC. Conclusions: PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway alterations present a heterogenous distribution across various types of lung malignancies especially in NSCLC. As more small molecule inhibitors developed to target PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, this study might shed light on further clinical investigation of these lately developed therapeutic approaches. [Table: see text]


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-10
Author(s):  
Adrien Costantini ◽  
Theodoros Katsikas ◽  
Clementine Bostantzoglou

Over the past decade, major breakthroughs in the understanding of lung cancer histology and mutational pathways have radically changed diagnosis and management. More specifically, in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), tumour characterisation has shifted from differentiating based solely on histology to characterisation that includes genetic profiling and mutational status of Epidermal Growth Factor (EGFR), Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK), c-ros oncogene 1 (ROS1) and BRAF. These genetic alterations can be targeted by specific drugs that result in improved progression-free survival, as well as higher response rates and are currently standard of care for NSCLC patients harbouring these mutations. In this a narrative, non-systematic review we aim to handpick through the extensive literature and critically present the ground-breaking studies that lead to the institution of tailored treatment options as the standard of care for the main targetable genetic alterations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina Kildey ◽  
Neha S. Gandhi ◽  
Katherine B. Sahin ◽  
Esha T. Shah ◽  
Eric Boittier ◽  
...  

AbstractPlatinum-based chemotherapy remains the cornerstone of treatment for most non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases either as maintenance therapy or in combination with immunotherapy. However, resistance remains a primary issue. Our findings point to the possibility of exploiting levels of cell division cycle associated protein-3 (CDCA3) to improve response of NSCLC tumours to therapy. We demonstrate that in patients and in vitro analyses, CDCA3 levels correlate with measures of genome instability and platinum sensitivity, whereby CDCA3high tumours are sensitive to cisplatin and carboplatin. In NSCLC, CDCA3 protein levels are regulated by the ubiquitin ligase APC/C and cofactor Cdh1. Here, we identified that the degradation of CDCA3 is modulated by activity of casein kinase 2 (CK2) which promotes an interaction between CDCA3 and Cdh1. Supporting this, pharmacological inhibition of CK2 with CX-4945 disrupts CDCA3 degradation, elevating CDCA3 levels and increasing sensitivity to platinum agents. We propose that combining CK2 inhibitors with platinum-based chemotherapy could enhance platinum efficacy in CDCA3low NSCLC tumours and benefit patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1126
Author(s):  
Michał Szczyrek ◽  
Radosław Mlak ◽  
Aneta Szudy-Szczyrek ◽  
Karolina Kędziora ◽  
Teresa Małecka-Massalska ◽  
...  

Caspase 8 is a protein involved in the process of cell apoptosis, which may affect the efficacy of anti-cancer treatment. The aim of our study was to determine the impact of polymorphisms in the CASP-8 gene encoding caspase 8 on the prognosis in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study involved 99 patients with newly diagnosed locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. The presence of the GG genotype was associated with distant metastases, smoking, and a family history of cancer. The higher risk of early progression was associated with weight loss and the CASP-8 genotype (GG vs. AG or AA: 20.51% vs. 2.86%). The higher risk of progression-free survival (PFS) shortening was associated with a higher stage of disease (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.50, 95% CI: 1.61–3.89, p < 0.0001), distant metastases (HR = 2.30, 95% CI: 1.42–3.72, p = 0.0016), and the GG genotype (HR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.10–2.57, p = 0.0152). The influence of the GG genotype on the PFS was confirmed in a multivariate analysis (HR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.06–3.05, p = 0.0317). We did not confirm the influence of CASP-8 genotypes on the overall survival (OS).


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