TY - JOUR
T1 - KEAP1/NFE2L2 Mutations of Liquid Biopsy as Prognostic Biomarkers in Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Results From Two Multicenter, Randomized Clinical Trials
AU - Zhu, Hongyuan
AU - Xie, Daipeng
AU - Yu, Yunfang
AU - Yao, Lintong
AU - Xu, Bin
AU - Huang, Luyu
AU - Wu, Shaowei
AU - Li, Fasheng
AU - Zheng, Yating
AU - Liu, Xinyi
AU - Xie, Wenzhuan
AU - Huang, Mengli
AU - Li, Hao
AU - Zheng, Shaopeng
AU - Zhang, Dongkun
AU - Qiao, Guibin
AU - Chan, Lawrence W.C.
AU - Zhou, Haiyu
N1 - Funding Information:
The data of OAK and POPLAR trials are available as supplementary information in Gandara DR et?al. (PMID: 30082870). The authors would like to thank Dr. David S. Shames (corresponding author) for giving us permission to use this data.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2021 Zhu, Xie, Yu, Yao, Xu, Huang, Wu, Li, Zheng, Liu, Xie, Huang, Li, Zheng, Zhang, Qiao, Chan and Zhou.
PY - 2021/7/26
Y1 - 2021/7/26
N2 - Purpose: The KEAP1-NFE2L2 (Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1)-Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (NFE2L2)) mutations are associated with resistance to chemotherapy or immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Conversely, it has been reported that NFE2L2 mutations potentiate improved clinical outcome with immunotherapy. However, therapeutic benefits for patients with KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between KEAP1/NFE2L2 and NSCLC prognosis, and to explore whether immunotherapy can improve prognosis in populations with KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations. Experimental Design: The impact of KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations on survival outcomes in NSCLC patients received immunotherapy and chemotherapy was verified in the randomized phase II/III POPLAR/OAK trials (blood-based sequencing, bNGS cohort, POPLAR (n = 211) and OAK (n = 642)). The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) NSCLC cohort (n=998) and an in-house Chinese NSCLC cohort (n=733) was used For the analysis of immune-related markers. Results: Compared with KEAP1/NFE2L2 wild-type, patients with KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations were significantly associated with poorer overall survival (OS, HR = 1.97, 95% CI 1.48–2.63, P < 0.001) on atezolizumab and docetaxel (HR = 1.66, 95% CI 1.28–2.16, P < 0.001). In KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutant group, there was no significant difference in median OS between atezolizumab and docetaxel (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.53–1.03, P = 0.07). NFE2L2/KEAP1 mutations were significantly associated with higher TMB values and PD-L1 expression in the OAK/POPLAR and in-house Chinese NSCLC cohorts. GSEA revealed that KEAP1/NFE2L2mutant subgroup was associated with deficient infiltration of CD4+ T cells, NK T cells and natural Treg cells, and lower expression of DNA damage response genes in TCGA NSCLC cohort. Conclusions: Our study revealed that patients with KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations have a worse prognosis than wild-type patients, both on immunotherapy and chemotherapy. In addition, in patients with KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations, immunotherapy did not significantly improve prognosis compared to chemotherapy.
AB - Purpose: The KEAP1-NFE2L2 (Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1)-Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (NFE2L2)) mutations are associated with resistance to chemotherapy or immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Conversely, it has been reported that NFE2L2 mutations potentiate improved clinical outcome with immunotherapy. However, therapeutic benefits for patients with KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between KEAP1/NFE2L2 and NSCLC prognosis, and to explore whether immunotherapy can improve prognosis in populations with KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations. Experimental Design: The impact of KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations on survival outcomes in NSCLC patients received immunotherapy and chemotherapy was verified in the randomized phase II/III POPLAR/OAK trials (blood-based sequencing, bNGS cohort, POPLAR (n = 211) and OAK (n = 642)). The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) NSCLC cohort (n=998) and an in-house Chinese NSCLC cohort (n=733) was used For the analysis of immune-related markers. Results: Compared with KEAP1/NFE2L2 wild-type, patients with KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations were significantly associated with poorer overall survival (OS, HR = 1.97, 95% CI 1.48–2.63, P < 0.001) on atezolizumab and docetaxel (HR = 1.66, 95% CI 1.28–2.16, P < 0.001). In KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutant group, there was no significant difference in median OS between atezolizumab and docetaxel (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.53–1.03, P = 0.07). NFE2L2/KEAP1 mutations were significantly associated with higher TMB values and PD-L1 expression in the OAK/POPLAR and in-house Chinese NSCLC cohorts. GSEA revealed that KEAP1/NFE2L2mutant subgroup was associated with deficient infiltration of CD4+ T cells, NK T cells and natural Treg cells, and lower expression of DNA damage response genes in TCGA NSCLC cohort. Conclusions: Our study revealed that patients with KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations have a worse prognosis than wild-type patients, both on immunotherapy and chemotherapy. In addition, in patients with KEAP1/NFE2L2 mutations, immunotherapy did not significantly improve prognosis compared to chemotherapy.
KW - chemotherapy
KW - immunotherapy
KW - KEAP1/NFE2L2
KW - non-small cell lung cancer
KW - prognostic
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85112136969&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fonc.2021.659200
DO - 10.3389/fonc.2021.659200
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85112136969
VL - 11
JO - Frontiers in Oncology
JF - Frontiers in Oncology
SN - 2234-943X
M1 - 659200
ER -