SMAD4 and NF1 mutations as potential biomarkers for poor prognosis to cetuximab-based therapy in Chinese metastatic colorectal cancer patients

• Main Authors: Zhu Mei, Yang W. Shao, Peinan Lin, Xiaomin Cai, Biao Wang, Yan Ding, Xiangyuan Ma, Xue Wu, Yewei Xia, Dongqin Zhu, Yongqian Shu, Zan Fu, Yanhong Gu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2018-04-01
• Series: BMC Cancer
• Subjects: SMAD4; NF1; Metastatic colorectal cancer; Cetuximab; Prognosis; Next-generation sequencing
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12885-018-4298-5

Abstract Background Cetuximab, an anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody, is used in combination with chemotherapy in clinic to enhance the outcome in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients with only ~ 20% response rate. To date only activating mutations in KRAS and NRAS have been identified as poor prognosis biomarkers in cetuximab-based treatment, which makes an urgent need for identification of novel prognosis biomarkers to precisely predict patients’ response in order to maximize the benefit. Methods In this study, we analysed the mutation profiles of 33 Chinese mCRC patients using comprehensive next-generation sequencing (NGS) targeting 416 cancer-relevant genes before cetuximab treatment. Upon receiving cetuximab-based therapy, patients were evaluated for drug response, and the progression-free survival (PFS) was monitored. The association of specific genetic alterations and cetuximab efficacy was analyzed. Results Patients carrying SMAD4 mutations (SMAD4 mut, n = 8) or NF1 mutations (NF1 mut, n = 4) had significantly shorter PFS comparing to those carrying wildtype SMAD4 (SMAD4 wt, n = 25) (P = 0.0081) or wildtype NF1 (NF1 wt, n = 29) (P = 0.0028), respectively. None of the SMAD4 mut or NF1 mut patients showed response to cetuximab when assessed at 12-week post-treatment. Interestingly, two patients carrying both SMAD4 mut and NF1 mut showed the shortest PFS among all the patients. Conclusions Our results demonstrated that SMAD4 and NF1 mutations can serve as potential biomarkers for poor prognosis to cetuximab-based therapy in Chinese mCRC patients.