EGFR Amplification in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Menée à partir de données cliniques portant sur 1 521 patients atteints d'un cancer colorectal métastatique, cette étude identifie les caractéristiques cliniques et moléculaires des tumeurs présentant une amplification du gène du récepteur EGFR

Journal of the National Cancer Institute, sous presse, 2021, résumé

Résumé en anglais

Background : EGFR amplification occurs in about 1% of metastatic colorectal cancers (mCRCs) but is not routinely tested as a prognostic or predictive biomarker for patients treated with anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Herein, we aimed to characterize the clinical and molecular landscape of EGFR-amplified metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Methods : In this multinational cohort study, we compared clinical data of 62 patients with EGFR-amplified vs. 1459 EGFR non-amplified mCRC, as well as comprehensive genomic data of 35 EGFR-amplified vs. 439 EGFR non-amplified RAS/BRAF wild-type and microsatellite stable (MSS) tumor samples.

Results : EGFR amplification was statistically significantly associated with left primary tumor sidedness and RAS/BRAF wild-type status. All EGFR-amplified tumors were MSS and HER2 non-amplified. Overall, EGFR-amplified samples had higher median fraction of genome altered compared to EGFR non-amplified, RAS/BRAF wild-type MSS cohort. Patients with EGFR-amplified tumors reported longer overall survival (OS) (median OS = 71.3 months; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 50.7-NA) vs. EGFR non-amplified ones (24.0 months; 95% CI = 22.8-25.6; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.20-0.44, P<.001; adjusted HR = 0.46, 95%CI = 0.30-0.69, P<.001). In the subgroup of patients with RAS/BRAF wild-type mCRC exposed to anti-EGFR-based therapy, EGFR amplification was again associated with better OS (median OS = 54.0 months [95% CI = 35.2-NA] vs. 29.1 months [95% CI = 27.0-31.9], respectively; HR = 0.46, 95%CI = 0.28-0.76, P=.002).

Conclusion : Patients with EGFR-amplified mCRC represent a biologically defined subgroup and merit dedicated clinical trials with novel and more potent EGFR targeting strategies beyond single-agent monoclonal antibodies.