Blood-based genomic profiling of circulating cell-free tumor DNA (ctDNA) in 1397 patients (pts) with colorectal cancer (CRC).

Abstract

584 Background: ctDNA is shed into the bloodstream by tumor cells throughout the body, offering a non-invasive means of genomic testing, and a way to detect heterogeneous, subclonal genomic alterations present in distinct tumor lesions within an individual pt. However, a broad comparison of mutation prevalence in CRC ctDNA versus CRC tumor tissue has not yet been performed. Methods: ctDNA from 1397 CRC pts was analyzed using a CLIA-certified digital sequencing assay (Guardant360, Guardant Health) capable of detecting single nucleotide variants (SNV) in up to 70 genes, as well as selected insertions/deletions, amplifications, and fusions. Subclonal mutations were defined as mutations with mutant allele fractions (MAF) ≤ 50% of the greatest somatic MAF in the sample. Frequencies of mutations detected were compared to two large tissue-based sequencing databases (TCGA and NHS/HPS). Results: 1500/1772 (85%) tests had at least one genomic alteration (1397 unique pts). The most common SNV mutations included TP53 (62%), APC (47%), KRAS (39%), PIK3CA (17%), EGFR (11%), SMAD4 (11%), and BRAF (11%); these frequencies were comparable to rates in TCGA and NHS/HPS. In contrast, EGFR extracellular domain (ECD) mutations (42 pts) and JAK2 V617F mutations (16 pts) detected in ctDNA were not seen in tissue sequencing, reflecting acquired resistance to EGFR antibodies and clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate clinical potential, respectively. 88% of pts with ECD mutations had at least one additional non-ECD resistance alteration detected in ctDNA (range 1-9, median 2.6), including KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, MAP2K1, MET and ERBB2. EGFR mutations were most likely to be detected as subclonal (86%), while mutations most likely to be clonal included KRAS (71%), TP53 (65%), BRAF (65%), and APC(63%). In 84 pts with serial monitoring, 87% had either gain (61%) or loss (63%) of clones over time. Conclusions: Blood-based genomic profiling can effectively detect common genomic alterations in CRC at comparable frequencies as observed in tissue and provide novel insights into tumor clonality and clonal dynamics. Clinical trials to target EGFR ECD mutations may be limited by the multiplicity of resistance mechanisms in each pt.