Gene Expression Signatures Predictive of Bevacizumab/Erlotinib Therapeutic Benefit in Advanced Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Strategic Insights -

Researchers at the Department of Medical Oncology have made significant progress in identifying gene expression signatures associated with angiogenesis and hypoxia pathways that can predict the response to bevacizumab/erlotinib treatment in nonsquamous advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients. The study analyzed biopsy samples from 42 patients and found that higher gene expression levels of the 10-gene angiogenesis-associated signature and lower levels of the 10-gene hypoxia response signature predicted improved time-to-progression, tumor shrinkage, and overall survival in patients undergoing bevacizumab/erlotinib therapy.

Key Takeaways:

  • Researchers identified gene expression signatures associated with angiogenesis and hypoxia pathways that can predict the response to bevacizumab/erlotinib treatment in nonsquamous advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients.
  • Higher gene expression levels of the 10-gene angiogenesis-associated signature and lower levels of the 10-gene hypoxia response signature were associated with improved time-to-progression, tumor shrinkage, and overall survival in patients undergoing bevacizumab/erlotinib therapy.
  • The study analyzed biopsy samples from 42 patients and found that the angiogenic and hypoxia response signatures were enriched within the genes predictive of bevacizumab/erlotinib response, tumor shrinkage, and overall survival.
  • The research identified clinically relevant biomarkers that can allow for selecting the subset of patients who benefit from the treatment and predict drug response.
  • The study was conducted as part of the SAKK 19/05 trial, which aimed to investigate the therapeutic benefit of bevacizumab/erlotinib in nonsquamous advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Statistics:

  • 42 patients were analyzed in the study.
  • Higher gene expression levels of the 10-gene angiogenesis-associated signature predicted improved time-to-progression, with 7.1 months versus 2.1 months for low versus high-risk patients (P = 0.005).
  • Lower levels of the 10-gene hypoxia response signature were associated with improved overall survival, with 17.8 months versus 9.9 months for low versus high-risk patients (P = 0.001).

Sources:

  • Gene Expression Signatures Predictive of Bevacizumab/Erlotinib Therapeutic Benefit in Advanced Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients (SAKK 19/05 trial). Clinical Cancer Research, 2015;21(23):5253-5263.
  • American Association for Cancer Research - www.aacr.com
  • Clinical Cancer Research - clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/
  • A. Franzini, Clin Luganese, Dept. of Med Oncol, Lugano, Switzerland.