Comprehensive Next-Generation Sequencing Reveals Novel Predictive Biomarkers of Recurrence and Thoracic Toxicity Risks After Chemoradiation Therapy in Limited Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

Purpose: Although definitive chemoradiation therapy (dCRT) remains the most effective treatment modality in limited stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), some patients progress quickly or develop serious radiation-induced thoracic toxicity (RITT). Molecular correlates of response to dCRT remain to be explored.

Methods and materials: Genomic profiling was performed retrospectively on 231 patients with limited-stage SCLC treated with dCRT between 2015 and 2019 using a customized panel covering cancer and radiation therapy response-related genes. Exploratory associations of progression-free survival, overall survival, and RITT with clinical features, tumor genetics, genomic and molecular pathway alterations, and single nucleotide polymorphisms were conducted.

Results: In addition to the common SCLC genes, such as TP53, RB1, and NOTCH1/2, potentially actionable mutations in EGFR, KRAS, and BRCA1/2 were among the top alterations in the cohort. At the single-gene level, CDK4 and GATA6 alterations were independent predictors of poor survival by multivariate analysis. At the genomic level, high tumor mutational burden was strongly associated with favorable survival outcome. Pathway-level analysis showed that activating mutations in the MAPK/ERK pathway genes, particularly those in EGFR/ERBB2, correlated with poor survival. Combined analysis enabled optimized risk stratification of post-dCRT survival. On the other hand, our study also confirmed that single nucleotide polymorphisms in MTHFR, CYP2B6, NQO1, and LIG4 were risk alleles of high-grade RITT. Remarkably, somatic loss-of-function mutations in the DNA damage repair pathway genes were associated with increased risk of high-grade RITT, particularly pneumonitis, which likely reflect a complex interplay between the tumor and its immune microenvironment.

Conclusions: Taken together, by examining the mutational landscape of a large cohort of limited-stage SCLC, we identified novel molecular predictors of survival and RITT. Our findings also implicate several key molecular pathways, including the MAPK/ERK and DNA damage repair pathways, in the regulation of dCRT response.