Feasibility and clinical utility of EUS guided biopsy of pancreatic cancer for next-generation genomic sequencing.

Abstract

296 Background: Next-generation sequencing technology has made genomic profiling guided therapy a reality for many cancer types. The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of genomic profiling using standard clinical endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) core biopsy samples of Pancreatic Cancer (PC) to allow personalised cancer care. Methods: 78 patients underwent additional research biopsy at the time of diagnostic EUS biopsy. En-face frozen section was performed to enable targeted macro-dissection prior to DNA extraction, quantification and targeted gene sequencing (Agilent Comprehensive Cancer Gene Panel). Matching formalin-fixed (FFPE) diagnostic EUS biopsies and fresh frozen surgical resection specimens also underwent genomic profiling for comparison. Whole genome (WGS) and RNA sequencing was performed in selected patients. Results: Targeted panel sequencing ( n = 61) revealed known PC genes ( KRAS, GNAS, TP53, CDKN2A, SMAD4) in 36 patients with histological evidence of PC. Potentially actionable somatic mutations (BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM, BRAF, JAK3) were found in 6 (17%) patients. WGS ( n = 5) of EUS samples confirmed mutations identified on panel sequencing and revealed relevant mutational signatures and structural variation patterns that can act as putative biomarkers of therapeutic responsiveness. RNA sequencing ( n = 54) segregated patients into key clinically relevant molecular PC subtypes based on transcriptome and reveals novel molecular insights into advanced, unresectable PC ( n = 38). Conclusions: We demonstrate here novel multi-omic analysis of pancreatic cancer using standard clinical EUS guided fine needle biopsies. Multi-omic analysis of EUS biopsies offers potential clinical utility to guide personalized therapy of PC in both the neoadjuvant and advanced settings.