The role of serial circulating tumor DNA for predicting clinical outcomes of chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Abstract

433 Background: Serial circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis enables us to detect minimal residual disease, to estimate recurrence and to trace evolution of cancer. However, the role of ctDNA in patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC) who received palliative chemotherapy is still unclear. We performed this study to evaluate if serial ctDNA can predict clinical outcomes of chemotherapy and propose evolutionary findings during chemotherapy. Methods: The patients with histopathologically confirmed AGC and who received palliative chemotherapy were enrolled. Serial blood sample for ctDNA sequencing were obtained at baseline (BL) (before first-line chemotherapy), after first cycle and every 2-3 months until disease progression. ctDNA sequencing was performed for all samples using the next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform with a targeted gene panel including 106 genes. Single nucleotide variants (SNVs), insertions and deletions (Indels), and copy number variants (CNVs) were identified by ctDNA sequencing while serial ctDNA were monitored by tracing changes in the variants. ctDNA clearance was defined as no detection of any kind of variants or variant allele frequency (VAF) less than 0.1%. Results: A total of 50 patients were registered and 248 samples were collected. Median age was 62. HER2-positive GC were 5 (10.0%) and 49 received fluoropyrimidine plus platinum (1 did not receive chemotherapy). Response rate and median progression-free survival (PFS) were 42.9% and 10.7 months (95% CI, 7.9-13.6). Among 40 who were available for BL ctDNA, patients who were detected with ctDNA variant (D group) were 21 (52.5%). TP53 mutation was the most frequently observed genetic alteration in BL ctDNA (76.2%) and median copy numbers of ERBB2 in HER2-positive GC were 28 (range 2-42). D group were more frequently observed in tubular or papillary adenocarcinoma than in poorly cohesive carcinoma (69.0% vs. 9.1%, p = 0.001). Patients who were not detected with any kind of ctDNA variant (ND group) showed a trend in longer PFS, compared to D group, however it was not significant (10.5 vs 7.9 months, p = 0.29). In serial analysis during first-line chemotherapy, ctDNA clearance was observed in 14 (70.0%) out of 20 in D group. Patients with ctDNA clearance showed significantly longer PFS, compared with patients without ctDNA clearance (9.8 vs. 3.6 months, p < 0.001). Among 32 patients who had disease progression, increased VAF or re-development of previous BL ctDNA variants were observed in 16 (50.0%). Increased VAF or re-development of BL ctDNA were detected in 2.1 months earlier than clinical or radiologic deterioration. Conclusions: Serial ctDNA could predict clinical outcomes of chemotherapy and detect disease progression earlier than clinical or radiological findings in AGC. Further study for serial ctDNA is needed to find out the resistant mechanism and evolutionary process in cancer.