Purpose: Genetic alterations such as activating KRAS and/or inactivating TP53 are thought to be the most common drivers to tumorigenesis. Therefore, we assessed phase I cancer patients with KRAS+/TP53+ mutations.
Results: Approximately 8% of patients referred to phase I clinical trials harbored concurrent KRAS and TP53 mutations. Patients who received a phase I trial therapy (n = 57) had a median OS of 12 months, compared with 4.6 months in those who were not treated (n = 106; p = 0.003). KRAS G13 and TP53 R273 mutations were associated with poor overall survival (OS), while antiangiogenesis and gene aberration-related therapies were associated with prolonged OS. A prognostic model using neutrophilia, thrombocytosis, hypoalbuminemia, body mass index <30 kg/m2, and the absence of lung metastasis was established and validated. Phase I cancer patients in the low-risk group had a median OS of 16.6 months compared with 5.4 months in the high-risk group (p < 0.001). Untreated patients in the low-risk group had a median OS of 6.7 months compared with 3.6 months in the high-risk group (p = 0.033).
Experimental design: We analyzed 163 consecutive patients with advanced KRAS+/TP53+ mutant cancer who were referred to phase I clinical trials, to identify molecular aberrations, clinical characteristics, survivals, and potentially effective treatment regimens.
Conclusions: This study provided preliminary evidence that besides modulation of the proinflammatory state, antiangiogensis and concomitant gene aberration-related therapies may improve the treatment of KRAS+/TP53+ mutant cancer.
Keywords: KRAS; TP53; chronic inflammation; gene aberration-related therapy; phase I trial.