Tumor-Agnostic Precision Medicine from the AACR GENIE Database: Clinical Implications

Mohamed A Gouda1, Blessie E Nelson1, Lars Buschhorn2

  • 1Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.

Insights

Precision oncology advances with tissue-agnostic cancer therapies targeting biomarkers like BRAFV600E mutations and high tumor mutation burden (TMB). This study explores their distribution across various cancer types, aiding targeted treatment strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Genomics
  • Precision Medicine

Background:

  • Biomarker-driven therapies have transformed oncology, enabling treatments effective across diverse cancer types.
  • Tissue-agnostic targets, identified through understanding tumor biology, have led to pan-cancer therapeutic approvals.
  • Five key molecular biomarkers (BRAFV600E, RET fusions, NTRK fusions, high tumor mutation burden (TMB), and deficient mismatch repair/high microsatellite instability (dMMR/MSI-High)) have FDA tissue-agnostic approval.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the clinico-genomic landscape of FDA-approved tissue-agnostic targets.
  • To analyze the distribution of specific biomarkers (BRAFV600E, RET fusions, NTRK fusions, high TMB) across various cancer types.
  • To summarize the biological insights and approved therapies for these pan-cancer targets.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the AACR Project GENIE registry (version 13.0), encompassing 168,423 patient samples.
  • Analyzed genomic data to identify the prevalence of BRAFV600E mutations, RET fusions, NTRK fusions, and high TMB.
  • Reviewed existing literature on the biology of these alterations and the efficacy of associated targeted therapies and immunotherapies.

Main Results:

  • BRAFV600E mutations, RET fusions, NTRK fusions, and high TMB were identified in 2.9%, 1.6%, 1.5%, and 15.2% of pan-cancer samples, respectively.
  • Detailed the distribution patterns of these tissue-agnostic targets across different cancer types.
  • Compiled information on approved drugs, including pembrolizumab, dostarlimab, larotrectinib, entrectinib, selpercatinib, and dabrafenib/trametinib.

Conclusions:

  • The study provides a comprehensive overview of the clinico-genomic landscape for key tissue-agnostic cancer biomarkers.
  • Understanding the prevalence and distribution of these targets is crucial for optimizing precision oncology strategies.
  • This analysis supports the clinical application of targeted therapies and immunotherapies across a broad spectrum of cancers based on specific molecular alterations.