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One of the great challenges in therapeutic oncology is determining who might achieve survival benefits from a particular therapy. Studies on longitudinal circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) dynamics for the prediction of survival have generally been small or nonrandomized. We assessed ctDNA across 5 time points in 466 non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients from the randomized phase 3 IMpower150 study comparing chemotherapy-immune checkpoint inhibitor (chemo-ICI) combinations and used machine learning to jointly model multiple ctDNA metrics to predict overall survival (OS). ctDNA assessments through cycle 3 day 1 of treatment enabled risk stratification of patients with stable disease (hazard ratio (HR) = 3.2 (2.0–5.3), P P P = 0.00012). Simulations of clinical trial scenarios employing our ctDNA model suggested that early ctDNA testing outperforms early radiographic imaging for predicting trial outcomes. Overall, measuring ctDNA dynamics during treatment can improve patient risk stratification and may allow early differentiation between competing therapies during clinical trials.

PDF file - 106KB, Schematic representation of the study design. 37 IMT tumor samples from 33 patients were collected under IRB approved protocols. ALK immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed on each of the 37 cases as standard of clinical care. Targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) using the FoundationOne was completed in each case. 22/26 ALK IHC+ and 11/11 ALK IHC- samples were evaluable. ALK kinase fusions were detected in 20/22 (91%) of the ALK IHC+ cases. In the ALK IHC- cases, 2/11 (18%) harbored ALK fusions, 2/11 (18%) harbored PDGFRβ fusions, and 4/11 (36%) harbored ROS1 fusions. Overall, therapeutically actionable kinase fusions were detected in 28/33 (85%) of cases.

Supplementary Table S3: Genomic alterations across selected targets. See Figure 3 for additional details. Zoomable PDF.

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Supplementary Figure 1 shows RICTOR amplification/overexpression in the index patient by FISH and IHC. Supplementary Figure 2 shows analysis of TCGA database for RICTOR alteration in all types of cancers, including NSCLC. Supplementary figure 3A shows the gene alterations in each individual with RICTOR-amplified tumors. 3B shows the absolute and relative frequency of each gene alteration found in RICTOR-amplified lung cancer samples from FM NGS database.

Supplementary Fig. S3: Co-mutation across all PACC tumors.

Additional detailed methods.

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PDF file - 59KB, Schematic representation of the index patient's treatment history. A timeline detailing the index patient's diagnosis and subsequent systemic therapies is depicted. Time in months is shown below the arrow. The timeline starts at the patient's initial diagnosis.

PDF file - 137KB, Summary of genomic coordinates for the kinase fusions identified in this study. The sample number is depicted in the far left column. For tumor samples in which a kinase fusion was identified, the genomic coordinates for of each of the fusion genes is indicated. There were no other recurrent alterations. *The FN1-ALK fusion was detected with RNA sequencing. #Sufficient material was available to verify these kinase fusions with RNA sequencing.

PDF file - 53KB, FoundationOne panel. This targeted next generation sequencing platform evaluates for 3769 exons of 236 cancer genes and 47 introns of 19 commonly rearranged genes, including 8 tyrosine kinases.

This document contains Supplementary Figures 1-6 and Supplementary Table 1. Supplementary Figure 1. Sequencing reads of EGFR-KDD in index patient with lung adenocarcinoma. Supplementary Figure 2. cDNA sequence of EGFR-KDD. Supplementary Figure 3. Sequencing reads identifying EGFR-KDD in a lung adenocarcinoma tumor from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Supplementary Figure 4. Autophosphorylation of endogenous EGFR-KDD in A1235 cells. Supplementary Figure 5. Colony formation of NR6 cells expressing EGFR variants. Supplementary Figure 6. Efficacy of EGFR TKIs in endogenous and ectopic models of the EGFR-KDD. Supplementary Table 1. Results of MTT curve fitting from Prism.

Genomic alterations in lung adenocarcinoma displayed in Figure 2A.

This document contains Supplementary Methods, Supplementary Figure Legends, and Supplementary Table Legend.

Focal amplification and activating point mutation of the MET gene are well-characterized oncogenic drivers that confer susceptibility to targeted MET inhibitors. Recurrent somatic splice site alterations at MET exon 14 (METex14) that result in exon skipping and MET activation have been characterized, but their full diversity and prevalence across tumor types are unknown. Here, we report analysis of tumor genomic profiles from 38,028 patients to identify 221 cases with METex14 mutations (0.6%), including 126 distinct sequence variants. METex14 mutations are detected most frequently in lung adenocarcinoma (3%), but also frequently in other lung neoplasms (2.3%), brain glioma (0.4%), and tumors of unknown primary origin (0.4%). Further in vitro studies demonstrate sensitivity to MET inhibitors in cells harboring METex14 alterations. We also report three new patient cases with METex14 alterations in lung or histiocytic sarcoma tumors that showed durable response to two different MET-targeted therapies. The diversity of METex14 mutations indicates that diagnostic testing via comprehensive genomic profiling is necessary for detection in a clinical setting.Significance: Here we report the identification of diverse exon 14 splice site alterations in MET that result in constitutive activity of this receptor and oncogenic transformation in vitro. Patients whose tumors harbored these alterations derived meaningful clinical benefit from MET inhibitors. Collectively, these data support the role of METex14 alterations as drivers of tumorigenesis, and identify a unique subset of patients likely to derive benefit from MET inhibitors. Cancer Discov; 5(8); 850–9. ©2015 AACR.See related commentary by Ma, p. 802.See related article by Paik et al., p. 842.This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 783

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a neoplasm that typically occurs in children. The genetic landscape of this tumor is incompletely understood and therapeutic options are limited. Although 50% of IMTs harbor anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements, no therapeutic targets have been identified in ALK-negative tumors. We report for the first time that IMTs harbor other actionable targets, including ROS1 and PDGFRβ fusions. We detail the case of an 8-year-old boy with treatment-refractory ALK-negative IMT. Molecular tumor profiling revealed a ROS1 fusion, and he had a dramatic response to the ROS1 inhibitor crizotinib. This case prompted assessment of a larger series of IMTs. Next-generation sequencing revealed that 85% of cases evaluated harbored kinase fusions involving ALK, ROS1, or PDGFRβ. Our study represents the most comprehensive genetic analysis of IMTs to date and also provides a rationale for routine molecular profiling of these tumors to detect therapeutically actionable kinase fusions.Significance: Our study describes the most comprehensive genomics-based evaluation of IMT to date. Because there is no “standard-of-care” therapy for IMT, the identification of actionable genomic alterations, in addition to ALK, is expected to redefine management strategies for patients with this disease. Cancer Discov; 4(8); 889–95. ©2014 AACR.See related commentary by Le and Doebele, p. 870This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 855

PDF file - 87KB, Changes in the indicated laboratory parameters after 3 cycles of crizotinib. HgB: hemoglobin, Hct: hematocrit, MCV: mean corpuscular volume, ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate, LDH: lactate dehydrogenase.

Supplementary Table S1A: Genes analyzed for base substitutions, short insertions/deletions, and copy number alterations (DNA). Supplementary Table S1B: Genes analyzed for rearrangements (DNA).

Purpose: We undertook this study to determine the prevalence of estrogen receptor (ER) α (ESR1) mutations throughout the natural history of hormone-dependent breast cancer and to delineate the functional roles of the most commonly detected alterations.Experimental Design: We studied a total of 249 tumor specimens from 208 patients. The specimens include 134 ER-positive (ER+/HER2−) and, as controls, 115 ER-negative (ER−) tumors. The ER+ samples consist of 58 primary breast cancers and 76 metastatic samples. All tumors were sequenced to high unique coverage using next-generation sequencing targeting the coding sequence of the estrogen receptor and an additional 182 cancer-related genes.Results: Recurring somatic mutations in codons 537 and 538 within the ligand-binding domain of ER were detected in ER+ metastatic disease. Overall, the frequency of these mutations was 12% [9/76; 95% confidence interval (CI), 6%–21%] in metastatic tumors and in a subgroup of patients who received an average of 7 lines of treatment the frequency was 20% (5/25; 95% CI, 7%–41%). These mutations were not detected in primary or treatment-naïve ER+ cancer or in any stage of ER− disease. Functional studies in cell line models demonstrate that these mutations render estrogen receptor constitutive activity and confer partial resistance to currently available endocrine treatments.Conclusions: In this study, we show evidence for the temporal selection of functional ESR1 mutations as potential drivers of endocrine resistance during the progression of ER+ breast cancer. Clin Cancer Res; 20(7); 1757–67. ©2014 AACR.

Table S2. Genomic alterations across 576 lung adenocarcinomas grouped by ethnicity with description of the EGFR mutations. . "*" The "Unknown" population is the same of the pan-WT reported in the text.

Supplementary Table 1. Mutation hotspots interrogated by Sequenom.

This file contains supplemental tables S1-S7. The data contained are as follows: (Table S1) Gene lists on the FoundationOne assay, (Table S2) Sample counts per disease, (Table S3) Foundation Medicine sample counts compared to TCGA sample counts, (Table S4) Genes with altered frequencies between local and metastatic disease, (Table S5) Merged MutationAssessor and PolyPhen-2 outputs, (Table S6) Enrichment of NOTCH1 alterations across diseases, (Table S7) Curated list of tumor suppressor genes on the FoundationOne assay.

Purpose: Micropapillary urothelial carcinoma (MPUC) is a rare and aggressive form of bladder cancer. We conducted genomic analyses [next-generation sequencing (NGS)] of MPUC and non-micropapillary urothelial bladder carcinomas (non-MPUC) to characterize the genomic landscape and identify targeted treatment options.Experimental Design: DNA was extracted from 40 μm of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections from 15 MPUC and 64 non-MPUC tumors. Sequencing (NGS) was performed on hybridization-captured, adaptor ligation–based libraries to high coverage for 3,230 exons of 182 cancer-related genes plus 37 introns from 14 genes frequently rearranged in cancer. The results were evaluated for all classes of genomic alteration.Results: Mutations in the extracellular domain of ERBB2 were identified in 6 of 15 (40%) of MPUC: S310F (four cases), S310Y (one case), and R157W (one case). All six cases of MPUC with ERBB2 mutation were negative for ERBB2 amplification and Erbb2 overexpression. In contrast, 6 of 64 (9.4%) non-MPUC harbored an ERBB2 alteration, including base substitution (three cases), amplification (two cases), and gene fusion (one case), which is higher than the 2 of 159 (1.3%) protein-changing ERBB2 mutations reported for urinary tract cancer in COSMIC. The enrichment of ERBB2 alterations in MPUC compared with non-MPUC is significant both between this series (P < 0.0084) and for all types of urinary tract cancer in COSMIC (P < 0.001).Conclusions: NGS of MPUC revealed a high incidence of mutation in the extracellular domain of ERBB2, a gene for which there are five approved targeted therapies. NGS can identify genomic alteration, which inform treatment options for the majority of MPUC patients. Clin Cancer Res; 20(1); 68–75. ©2013 AACR.

Long tail distribution of the top 50 altered genes in pediatric sarcoma (S1); Long tail distribution of the top 50 altered genes in pediatric extracranial embryonal tumors (S2); Long tail distribution of the top 50 altered genes in pediatric brain tumors (S3); Long tail distribution of the top 50 altered genes in pediatric heme malignancies (S4); Long tail distribution of the top 50 altered genes in pediatric carcinomas (S5); Long tail distribution of the top 50 altered genes in pediatric gonadal tumors (S6); Known fusions identified in the pediatric cohort (S7); Tileplots showing the pattern of co-occurring alterations with novel MLL3 mutations (S8); Tileplot showing the pattern of co-occurring alterations with a novel PRSS1 mutation (S9); Tileplot showing the pattern of co-occurring alterations with novel DKC1 deletions (S10).

Gene lists for Version 1 of the FoundationOne Assay (S1); Gene lists for Version 2 of the FoundationOne Assay (S2); Gene lists for Version 3 of the FoundationOne Assay (S3); Gene lists for Version 4 of the FoundationOne Assay (S4); Gene lists for Version 5 of the FoundationOne Assay (S5); Distribution of samples across different FoundationOne assays (S6); Filtered variants of unknown significance (S7).

Expanded methods for the study.

This is the legend for the supplemental figure

PDF file - 96K, Supplementary Figure S3. Signaling and inhibition of TRIM24-BRAF.

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Mutant Allele Frequencies of the Mutated Genes in 22 cases of ILC

Genomic profiling is widely predicted to become a standard of care in clinical oncology, but more effective data sharing to accelerate progress in precision medicine will be required. Here, we describe cancer-associated genomic profiles from 18,004 unique adult cancers. The dataset was composed of 162 tumor subtypes including multiple rare and uncommon tumors. Comparison of alteration frequencies to The Cancer Genome Atlas identified some differences and suggested an enrichment of treatment-refractory samples in breast and lung cancer cohorts. To illustrate novelty within the dataset, we surveyed the genomic landscape of rare diseases and identified an increased frequency of NOTCH1 alterations in adenoid cystic carcinomas compared with previous studies. Analysis of tumor suppressor gene patterns revealed disease specificity for certain genes but broad inactivation of others. We identified multiple potentially druggable, novel and known kinase fusions in diseases beyond those in which they are currently recognized. Analysis of variants of unknown significance identified an enrichment of SMAD4 alterations in colon cancer and other rare alterations predicted to have functional impact. Analysis of established, clinically relevant alterations highlighted the spectrum of molecular changes for which testing is currently recommended, as well as opportunities for expansion of indications for use of approved targeted therapies. Overall, this dataset presents a new resource with which to investigate rare alterations and diseases, validate clinical relevance, and identify novel therapeutic targets. Cancer Res; 77(9); 2464–75. ©2017 AACR.

Purpose: Recurrent “driver” mutations at specific loci in BRAF, NRAS, KIT, GNAQ, and GNA11 define clinically relevant molecular subsets of melanoma, but more than 30% are “pan-negative” for these recurrent mutations. We sought to identify additional potential drivers in “pan-negative” melanoma.Experimental Design: Using a targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay (FoundationOne™) and targeted RNA sequencing, we identified a novel PAPSS1-BRAF fusion in a “pan-negative” melanoma. We then analyzed NGS data from 51 additional melanomas genotyped by FoundationOne™, as well as melanoma RNA, whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing data in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), to determine the potential frequency of BRAF fusions in melanoma. We characterized the signaling properties of confirmed molecular alterations by ectopic expression of engineered cDNAs in 293H cells.Results: Activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in cells by ectopic expression of PAPSS1-BRAF was abrogated by mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) inhibition but not by BRAF inhibition. NGS data analysis of 51 additional melanomas revealed a second BRAF fusion (TRIM24-BRAF) in a “pan-negative” sample; MAPK signaling induced by TRIM24-BRAF was also MEK inhibitor sensitive. Through mining TCGA skin cutaneous melanoma dataset, we further identified two potential BRAF fusions in another 49 “pan-negative” cases.Conclusions: BRAF fusions define a new molecular subset of melanoma, potentially comprising 4% to 8% of “pan-negative” cases. Their presence may explain an unexpected clinical response to MEK inhibitor therapy or assist in selecting patients for MEK-directed therapy. Clin Cancer Res; 19(24); 6696–702. ©2013 AACR.

PDF file - 190K, Supplementary Figure S2. Detection of TRIM24-BRAF by FoundationOne(TM).

Detailed genetic results

Purpose: The clinical utility of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in breast cancer has not been demonstrated. We hypothesized that we could perform NGS of a new biopsy from patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in a clinically actionable timeframe.Experimental Design: We planned to enroll 40 patients onto a prospective study, Individualized Molecular Analyses Guide Efforts (IMAGE), to evaluate the feasibility of obtaining a new biopsy of a metastatic site, perform NGS (FoundationOne), and convene a molecular tumor board to formulate treatment recommendations within 28 days. We collected blood at baseline and at time of restaging to assess cell-free circulating plasma tumor DNA (ptDNA).Results: We enrolled 26 women with metastatic TNBC who had received ≥1 line of prior chemotherapy, and 20 (77%) underwent NGS of a metastatic site biopsy. Twelve (60%) evaluable patients received treatment recommendations within 28 days of consent. The study closed after 20 patients underwent NGS, based on protocol-specified interim futility analysis. Three patients went on to receive genomically directed therapies. Twenty-four of 26 patients had genetic alterations successfully detected in ptDNA. Among 5 patients, 4 mutations found in tumor tissues were not identified in blood, and 4 mutations found in blood were not found in corresponding tumors. In 9 patients, NGS of follow-up blood samples showed 100% concordance with baseline blood samples.Conclusions: This study demonstrates challenges of performing NGS on prospective tissue biopsies in patients with metastatic TNBC within 28 days, while also highlighting the potential use of blood as a more time-efficient and less invasive method of mutational assessment. Clin Cancer Res; 23(2); 379–86. ©2016 AACR.

Photomicrographs of two ETV6-NTRK3 fusion cases.

Purpose: Targetable oncogenic alterations are detected more commonly in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who never smoked cigarettes. For such patients, specific kinase inhibitors have emerged as effective clinical treatments. However, the currently known oncogenic alterations do not account for all never smokers who develop NSCLC. We sought to identify additional oncogenic alterations from patients with NSCLC to define additional treatment options.Experimental Design: We analyzed 576 lung adenocarcinomas from patients of Asian and Caucasian ethnicity. We identified a subset of cancers that did not harbor any known oncogenic alteration. We performed targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay on 24 patients from this set with >75% tumor cell content.Results:EGFR mutations were the most common oncogenic alteration from both Asian (53%) and Caucasian (41.6%) patients. No known oncogenic alterations were present in 25.7% of Asian and 31% of Caucasian tumor specimens. We identified a FGFR3–TACC3 fusion event in one of 24 patients from this subset using targeted NGS. Two additional patients harboring FGFR3–TACC3 were identified by screening our entire cohort (overall prevalence, 0.5%). Expression of FGFR3–TACC3 led to IL3 independent growth in Ba/F3 cells. These cells were sensitive to pan-fibroblast growth factor receptor (pan-FGFR) inhibitors but not the epidermal growth factor (EGFR) inhibitor gefitinib.Conclusions:FGFR3–TACC3 rearrangements occur in a subset of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Such patients should be considered for clinical trials featuring FGFR inhibitors. Clin Cancer Res; 20(24); 6551–8. ©2014 AACR.

Figure S2. Haematoxylin and eosin staining of two patient samples with adenocarcinoma histology: A. CG-42. B. J2-109.

PDF file - 65K, Supplementary Figure 1. Tile Plot of Genomic Alterations in 64Cases on Non-micropapillary Urothelial Carcinoma.

Supplementary Data from Relapsed Classic E-Cadherin (CDH1)–Mutated Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer Shows a High Frequency of HER2 (ERBB2) Gene Mutations

Purpose: We queried whether comprehensive genomic profiling using a next-generation sequencing–based assay could identify novel and unanticipated targets of therapy for patients with relapsed invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC).Experimental Design: DNA sequencing (Illumina HiSeq 2000) was conducted for 3,320 exons of 182 cancer-related genes and 37 introns of 14 genes frequently rearranged in cancer on indexed, adaptor-ligated, hybridization-captured libraries using DNA isolated from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections from 22 histologically verified ILC.Results: A total of 75 genomic alterations were identified with an average of 3.4 alterations per tumor (range, 1–6), of which 35 were actionable for an average of 1.59 actionable alterations per patient (range, 0–3). Nineteen of 22 (86%) of the ILC samples harbored at least one actionable alteration. Six (27%) cases featured alterations in ERRB2 including 4 (18%) with ERBB2 mutation, 1 (5%) with an ERBB2 gene fusion, and 1 (5%) with an ERBB2 copy number gain (amplification). The enrichment of ERBB2 mutations/fusion in CDH1-mutated ILC (5 of 22, 23%) compared with the 5 ERBB2 mutations in a series of 286 non-CDH1-mutated breast cancers from which the ILC cases were obtained (5 of 286, 2%) was significant (P = 0.0006).Conclusions: Comprehensive genomic profiling of relapsed CDH1-mutated ILC revealed actionable genomic alterations in 86% of cases, featured a high incidence of ERBB2 alterations, and can reveal actionable alterations that can inform treatment decisions for patients with ILC. Clin Cancer Res; 19(10); 2668–76. ©2013 AACR.