Assessment of immunohistochemical testing for androgen receptor splice variant 7 as a biomarker to predict resistance to androgen receptor signaling inhibitors in metastatic prostate cancer.

Abstract

308 Background: Androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) has been shown to confer resistance to androgen receptor signaling inhibitors (ARS-I) such as enzalutamide (enza) and abiraterone (abi). Resistance can be observed at the time of initial treatment, or may be acquired later in the disease course. Prior research has primarily focused on AR-V7 expression in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) but the utility of more affordable immunohistochemical (IHC) testing to predict for primary resistance to ARS-I remains unknown, which is of particular relevance as ARS-I gain use as initial therapy. Methods: We identified patients in the South Texas Veterans Health Administration Tumor Registry with metastatic, castrate-resistant prostate cancer who received ARS-I since 2011. IHC for AR-V7 staining was validated on controls and performed on tissue from the most recent tissue specimen (diagnostic biopsy, prostatectomy, or biopsy of a metastatic site) on all identified patients with adequate tissue available. Results: 25 of 42 (60%) patients receiving abi had PSA response with median duration of response (DOR) of 231 days. 14 of 26 (54%) of patients receiving enza experienced PSA response with a median DOR of 165 days. IHC is currently being interpreted on stored tissue specimens to assess predictive efficacy of AR-V7 staining. The de-novo rate of AR-V7 expression and correlation with response to ARS-I in the veteran population will be reported with final results. Conclusions: IHC testing for AR-V7 may provide a cost-effective biomarker to identify patients resistant to ARS-I, thus avoiding thus avoiding time-consuming and costly treatment with ineffective therapy. Further study is warranted to assess cost-effectiveness and reduction in unnecessary toxicity by the use of IHC testing for AR-V7 in the front-line setting to predict primary resistance for patients that would otherwise qualify for ARS-I.