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D. Nonaka



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    P1.02 - Poster Session with Presenters Present (ID 454)

    • Event: WCLC 2016
    • Type: Poster Presenters Present
    • Track: Biology/Pathology
    • Presentations: 1
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      P1.02-025 - Evaluation of NGS and RT-PCR Methods for ALK Assessment in European NSCLC Patients: Results from the ETOP Lungscape Project (ID 5001)

      14:30 - 15:45  |  Author(s): D. Nonaka

      • Abstract

      Background:
      The reported prevalence of ALK rearrangement in NSCLC ranges from 2%-7%, depending on population and detection method. The primary standard diagnostic method is fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Recently, immunohistochemistry (IHC) has also proven to be a reproducible and sensitive technique. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been advocated and most recently the advent of targeted Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) for ALK and other fusions has become possible. This is one of the first studies comparing all 4 techniques in resected NSCLC from the large ETOP Lungscape cohort.

      Methods:
      96 cases from the ETOP Lungscape iBiobank (N=2709) selected based on any degree of IHC staining (clone 5A4 antibody, Novocastra, UK) were examined by FISH (Abbott Molecular, Inc.; Blackhall, JCO 2014), central RT-PCR and NGS. H-score 120 is used as cutoff for IHC+. For both RT-PCR and NGS, RNA was extracted from the same formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. For RT-PCR, primers were used covering the most frequent ALK translocations. For NGS, the Oncomine™ Solid Tumour Fusion Transcript Kit was used, allowing simultaneous sequencing of 70 ALK, RET and ROS1 specific fusion transcripts associated with NSCLC, as well as novel ALK translocations using 5’-3’ ALK gene expression ‘Imbalance Assay’.

      Results:
      NGS provided results for 90 cases, while RT-PCR for 77. Overall, 70 cases have results for all 4 methods, with fully concordant 60 (85.7%) cases (49 ALK-, 11 ALK+). Before employing the ‘Imbalance Assay', in 5 of the remaining 10 cases, NGS differs from the other methods (3 NGS-, 2 NGS+), while in the other 5, NGS agrees with RT-PCR in all, IHC in 2, and FISH in 1. Using the concordant result of at least two of the three methods as true negative/positive, the specificity and sensitivity of the fourth is 96/94/100/96% and 94/94/89/72% for IHC/FISH/RT-PCR/NGS, respectively (incorporating imbalance: NGS sensitivity=83%). Imbalance scores are presented here for 18 NGS- cases: 9 ‘NGS-/FISH+/IHC+’, 9 ‘NGS-/FISH-/IHC-‘. Among the ‘NGS-/FISH+/IHC+’, there is strong evidence of imbalance in 4 cases (score’s range: 0.0144-0.0555), uncertain in 5 (range: 0.0030-0.0087), and no evidence (scores≤0.0004) in the 9 negative cases.

      Conclusion:
      NGS is a useful screening tool for ALK rearrangement status, superior to RT-PCR when RNA yield is limited. When using NGS, it is critically important to integrate the 5’-3’ imbalance assay and to confirm with one or more additional methods in the ‘imbalance’ cases. Data further highlight the possibility of missing actionable rearrangements when only one screening methodology is available.

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    P3.03 - Poster Session with Presenters Present (ID 473)

    • Event: WCLC 2016
    • Type: Poster Presenters Present
    • Track: Mesothelioma/Thymic Malignancies/Esophageal Cancer/Other Thoracic Malignancies
    • Presentations: 1
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      P3.03-021 - When RON MET TAM in Mesothelioma: All Druggable for One, and One Drug for All? (ID 5025)

      14:30 - 15:45  |  Author(s): D. Nonaka

      • Abstract

      Background:
      Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive inflammatory cancer associated with exposure to asbestos. Untreated, MPM has a median survival time of 6 months, and most patients die within 24 months of diagnosis. Therefore an urgent need exists to identify new therapies for treating MPM patients. The potential for therapeutically targeting receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signalling networks is emerging as a critical mechanism in ‘oncogene addicted’ cancer, with RTK inhibitors evolving as areas of considerable importance in cancer therapy. Furthermore, RTK hetero-dimerization has emerged as a key element in the development of resistance to cancer therapy. As such TKIs which target several RTKs may have superior efficacy compared with TKIs targeting individual RTKs. We and others have identified c-MET, RON, Axl and Tyro3 as RTKs frequently overexpressed and activated in MPM, making these attractive candidate therapeutic targets. A number of orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitors have been developed which can target these receptors. LCRF0004 specifically targets RON, whereas ASLAN002 (BMS-777607) or Merestinib (LY2801653) are orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitors which inhibit c-MET, RON, Axl and Tyro3 at nanomolar concentrations. These drugs may therefore have applicability in the treatment/management of MPM.

      Methods:
      A panel of MPM and normal pleural cell lines were screened for expression of Tyro3, c-MET, RON and Axl by RT-PCR, and subsequently examined in a cohort of patient samples comprising benign, epithelial, biphasic, and sarcomatoid histologies by qPCR. The effects of two small molecule inhibitors LCRF0004, ASLAN002 on MPM cellular health were assessed in vitro. The effects of LCRF0004 and ASLAN002 were subsequently examined in an in vivo SQ xenograft tumour model.

      Results:
      Expression of various RON isoforms, c-MET, Tyro3 and Axl were observed in all cell lines. Significantly higher expression of all genes were found in the malignant tumour material versus benign pleura and this was validated in other datasets. Both LCRF0004 and ASLAN002 demonstrated significant anti-tumour efficacy in vitro. In xenograft models ASLAN002 was far superior to LCRF0004.

      Conclusion:
      Our results suggest that a multi-TKI, targeting the RON/MET/TAM signalling pathways, may be a more effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of MPM as opposed to targeting RON alone.