MA01.03 Exploiting DNA Methylation for Classification of SCLC Subtypes from Liquid Biopsies Using a Robust Machine Learning Approach

Abstract

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive cancer with limited treatment options and a generally poor prognosis that has not appreciably changed despite recently approved therapies. Importantly, therapeutic options for SCLC patients have been focused on unselected populations as SCLC was thought to be a relatively homogenous malignancy in the past. Recently, our group and others identified four major distinct subgroups of SCLC (Gay CM et al. Cancer Cell 2021). Three of the four subtypes are defined by the predominant expression of a specific transcription factor, ASCL1 (SCLC-A), NEUROD1 (SCLC-N) and POU2F3 (SCLC-P) while the fourth subtype is defined by an inflamed phenotype (SCLC-I).