Molecular landscape and subtype-specific therapeutic response of nasopharyngeal carcinoma revealed by integrative pharmacogenomics

Nat Commun. 2021 May 24;12(1):3046. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23379-3.

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant head and neck cancer type with high morbidity in Southeast Asia, however the pathogenic mechanism of this disease is poorly understood. Using integrative pharmacogenomics, we find that NPC subtypes maintain distinct molecular features, drug responsiveness, and graded radiation sensitivity. The epithelial carcinoma (EC) subtype is characterized by activations of microtubule polymerization and defective mitotic spindle checkpoint related genes, whereas sarcomatoid carcinoma (SC) and mixed sarcomatoid-epithelial carcinoma (MSEC) subtypes exhibit enriched epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and invasion promoting genes, which are well correlated with their morphological features. Furthermore, patient-derived organoid (PDO)-based drug test identifies potential subtype-specific treatment regimens, in that SC and MSEC subtypes are sensitive to microtubule inhibitors, whereas EC subtype is more responsive to EGFR inhibitors, which is synergistically enhanced by combining with radiotherapy. Through combinational chemoradiotherapy (CRT) screening, effective CRT regimens are also suggested for patients showing less sensitivity to radiation. Altogether, our study provides an example of applying integrative pharmacogenomics to establish a personalized precision oncology for NPC subtype-guided therapies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / methods
  • Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
  • Exome Sequencing
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Gene Knockout Techniques
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma / drug therapy*
  • Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma / genetics*
  • Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma / pathology
  • Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / pathology
  • Pharmacogenetics / methods*
  • Precision Medicine
  • Transcriptome