Epidermal growth factor receptor mutation analysis in tissue and plasma from the AURA3 trial: Osimertinib versus platinum‐pemetrexed for T790M mutation‐positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer

• Published in: Cancer Vol. 126; no. 2; pp. 373 - 380
• Main Authors: Papadimitrakopoulou, Vassiliki A., Han, Ji‐Youn, Ahn, Myung‐Ju, Ramalingam, Suresh S., Delmonte, Angelo, Hsia, Te‐Chun, Laskin, Janessa, Kim, Sang‐We, He, Yong, Tsai, Chun‐Ming, Hida, Toyoaki, Maemondo, Makoto, Kato, Terufumi, Jenkins, Suzanne, Patel, Sabina, Huang, Xiangning, Laus, Gianluca, Markovets, Aleksandra, Thress, Kenneth S., Wu, Yi‐Long, Mok, Tony
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 15.01.2020
• Subjects: Acrylamides - pharmacology; Acrylamides - therapeutic use; Aniline Compounds - pharmacology; Aniline Compounds - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - pharmacology; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; AURA3; Biopsy; Carboplatin - pharmacology; Carboplatin - therapeutic use; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - genetics; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - mortality; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - pathology; circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA); Circulating Tumor DNA - blood; Circulating Tumor DNA - genetics; Cisplatin - pharmacology; Cisplatin - therapeutic use; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA Mutational Analysis - methods; Epidermal growth factor; epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation; epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI); Epidermal growth factor receptors; ErbB Receptors - antagonists & inhibitors; ErbB Receptors - genetics; Female; Growth factors; Humans; Lung - pathology; Lung cancer; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Lung Neoplasms - genetics; Lung Neoplasms - mortality; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Male; Middle Aged; Mutation; Non-small cell lung carcinoma; non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); Oncology; osimertinib; Pemetrexed - pharmacology; Pemetrexed - therapeutic use; Plasma; Platinum; Polymerase chain reaction; Progression-Free Survival; Retrospective Studies; Sampling methods; Screening; Small cell lung carcinoma; T790M; Targeted cancer therapy; tissue; Tissue analysis; Tissues; Tumor Burden - genetics; Tumors; epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI); osimertinib; T790M; tissue; AURA3; circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA); plasma; non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation
• ISSN: 0008-543X; 1097-0142
• DOI: 10.1002/cncr.32503

Background This study assesses different technologies for detecting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations from circulating tumor DNA in patients with EGFR T790M‐positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from the AURA3 study (NCT02151981), and it evaluates clinical responses to osimertinib and platinum‐pemetrexed according to the plasma T790M status. Methods Tumor tissue biopsy samples were tested for T790M during screening with the cobas EGFR Mutation Test (cobas tissue). Plasma samples were collected at screening and at the baseline and were retrospectively analyzed for EGFR mutations with the cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2 (cobas plasma), droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR; Biodesix), and next‐generation sequencing (NGS; Guardant360, Guardant Health). Results With cobas tissue test results as a reference, the plasma T790M positive percent agreement (PPA) was 51% (110 of 215 samples) by cobas plasma, 58% (110 of 189) by ddPCR, and 66% (136 of 207) by NGS. Plasma T790M detection was associated with a larger median baseline tumor size (56 mm for T790M‐positive vs 39 mm for T790M‐negative; P < .0001) and the presence of extrathoracic disease (58% for M1b‐positive vs 39% for M0‐1a‐positive; P = .002). Progression‐free survival (PFS) was prolonged in randomized patients (tissue T790M‐positive) with a T790M‐negative cobas plasma result in comparison with those with a T790M‐positive plasma result in both osimertinib (median, 12.5 vs 8.3 months) and platinum‐pemetrexed groups (median, 5.6 vs 4.2 months). Conclusions PPA was similar between ddPCR and NGS assays; both were more sensitive than cobas plasma. All 3 test platforms are suitable for routine clinical practice. In patients with tissue T790M‐positive NSCLC, an absence of detectable plasma T790M at the baseline is associated with longer PFS, which may be attributed to a lower disease burden. This exploratory analysis of the AURA3 study demonstrates that plasma‐based platforms (cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2, next‐generation sequencing, and droplet digital polymerase chain reaction) are suitable for epidermal growth factor receptor mutation detection in routine clinical practice. In patients with tissue T790M‐positive non–small cell lung cancer, the absence of detectable plasma T790M is associated with longer progression‐free survival, which may be attributed to a lower disease burden.