Many targeted cancer therapies rely on biomarkers assessed by scoring of immunohistochemically (IHC)-stained tissue, which is subjective, semiquantitative, and does not account for expression ...heterogeneity. We describe an image analysis-based method for quantitative continuous scoring (QCS) of digital whole-slide images acquired from baseline human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) IHC-stained breast cancer tissue. Candidate signatures for patient stratification using QCS of HER2 expression on subcellular compartments were identified, addressing the spatial distribution of tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Using data from trastuzumab deruxtecan-treated patients with HER2-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer from a phase 1 study (NCT02564900; DS8201-A-J101; N = 151), QCS-based patient stratification showed longer progression-free survival (14.8 vs 8.6 months) with higher prevalence of patient selection (76.4 vs 56.9%) and a better cross-validated log-rank p value (0.026 vs 0.26) than manual scoring based on the American Society of Clinical Oncology / College of American Pathologists guidelines. QCS-based features enriched the HER2-negative subgroup by correctly predicting 20 of 26 responders.
To determine the safety and efficacy of gefitinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in combination with radiation for newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) patients.
...Between March 21, 2002, and May 3, 2004, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0211 enrolled 31 and 147 GBM patients in the phase 1 and 2 arms, respectively. Treatment consisted of daily oral gefinitnib started at the time of conventional cranial radiation therapy (RT) and continued post RT for 18 months or until progression. Tissue microarrays from 68 cases were analyzed for EGFR expression.
The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of gefitinib was determined to be 500 mg in patients on non-enzyme-inducing anticonvulsant drugs (non-EIAEDs). All patients in the phase 2 component were treated at a gefitinib dose of 500 mg; patients receiving EIADSs could be escalated to 750 mg. The most common side effects of gefitinib in combination with radiation were dermatologic and gastrointestinal. Median survival was 11.5 months for patients treated per protocol. There was no overall survival benefit for patients treated with gefitinib + RT when compared with a historical cohort of patients treated with RT alone, matched by RTOG recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) class distribution. Younger age was significantly associated with better outcome. Per protocol stratification, EGFR expression was not found to be of prognostic value for gefitinib + RT-treated patients.
The addition of gefitinib to RT is well tolerated. Median survival of RTOG 0211 patients treated with RT with concurrent and adjuvant gefitinib was similar to that in a historical control cohort treated with radiation alone.
Microtubule associated proteins (MAPs) endogenously regulate microtubule stabilization and have been reported as prognostic and predictive markers for taxane response. The microtubule stabilizer, ...MAP-tau, has shown conflicting results. We quantitatively assessed MAP-tau expression in two independent breast cancer cohorts to determine prognostic and predictive value of this biomarker.
MAP-tau expression was evaluated in the retrospective Yale University breast cancer cohort (n = 651) using tissue microarrays and also in the TAX 307 cohort, a clinical trial randomized for TAC versus FAC chemotherapy (n = 140), using conventional whole tissue sections. Expression was measured using the AQUA method for quantitative immunofluorescence. Scores were correlated with clinicopathologic variables, survival, and response to therapy.
Assessment of the Yale cohort using Cox univariate analysis indicated an improved overall survival (OS) in tumors with a positive correlation between high MAP-tau expression and overall survival (OS) (HR = 0.691, 95% CI = 0.489-0.974; P = 0.004). Kaplan Meier analysis showed 10-year survival for 65% of patients with high MAP-tau expression compared to 52% with low expression (P = .006). In TAX 307, high expression was associated with significantly longer median time to tumor progression (TTP) regardless of treatment arm (33.0 versus 23.4 months, P = 0.010) with mean TTP of 31.2 months. Response rates did not differ by MAP-tau expression (P = 0.518) or by treatment arm (P = 0.584).
Quantitative measurement of MAP-tau expression has prognostic value in both cohorts, with high expression associated with longer TTP and OS. Differences by treatment arm or response rate in low versus high MAP-tau groups were not observed, indicating that MAP-tau is not associated with response to taxanes and is not a useful predictive marker for taxane-based chemotherapy.
Despite the widespread use of immunohistochemistry (IHC), there are no standardization guidelines that control for antibody probe variability. Here we describe the effect of variable antibody ...reagents in the assessment of cancer-related biomarkers by IHC.
Estrogen receptor (ER), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) 1, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 3 (HER3) were evaluated by quantitative immunofluorescence. Correlations between ER clones 1D5, SP1, F10, and ER60c, and EGFR monoclonal 31G7, 2-18C9, H11, and 15F8, and polyclonal 2232 antibodies were assessed in 642 breast cancer patients. HER3 was measured by RTJ1, RTJ2, SGP1, M7297, RB-9211, and C-17 antibodies in 42 lung cancer patients. Survival analysis was done with the use of multiple cutoff points to reveal any prognostic classification.
All ER antibodies were tightly correlated (Pearson's r(2) = 0.94-0.96; P < 0.0001) and western blotting confirmed their specificity in MCF-7 and BT474 cells. All EGFR antibodies but 2232 yielded specific results in western blotting; however, only 31G7 and 2-18C9 were strongly associated (Pearson's r(2) = 0.61; P < 0.0001). HER3 staining was nonspecific and nonreproducible. High EGFR-expressing patients had a worse prognosis when EGFR was measured with H11 or 31G7 (log rank P = 0.015 and P = 0.06). There was no statistically significant correlation between survival and EGFR detected by 2-18C9, 15F8, or polyclonal 2232 antibodies.
Antibody validation is a critical analytic factor that regulates IHC readings in biomarker studies. Evaluation of IHC proficiency and quality control are key components toward IHC standardization.
This work highlights the importance of IHC standardization and could result in the improvement of clinically relevant IHC protocols.
Tumor survival is influenced by interactions between tumor cells and the stromal microenvironment. One example is Endosialin (Tumor Endothelial Marker-1 (TEM-1) or CD248), which is expressed ...primarily by cells of mesenchymal origin and some tumor cells. The expression, as a function of architectural masking, of TEM-1 and its pathway-associated proteins was quantified and examined for association with five-year disease-specific survival on a colorectal cancer (CRC) cohort divided into training (n=330) and validation (n=164) sets. Although stromal expression of TEM-1 had prognostic value, a more significant prognostic signature was obtained through linear combination of five compartment-specific expression scores (TEM-1 Stroma, TEM-1 Tumor Vessel, HIF2α Stromal Vessel, Collagen IV Tumor, and Fibronectin Stroma). This resulted in a single continuous risk score (TAPPS: TEM-1 Associated Pathway Prognostic Signature) which was significantly associated with decreased survival on both the training set HR=1.76 (95%CI: 1.44-2.15); p<0.001 and validation set HR=1.38 (95%CI: 1.02-1.88); p=0.04. Importantly, since prognosis is a critical clinical question in Stage II patients, the TAPPS score also significantly predicted survival in the Stage II patient (n=126) cohort HR=1.75 (95%CI: 1.22-2.52); p=0.002 suggesting the potential of using the TAPPS score to assess overall risk in CRC patients, and specifically in Stage II patients.
There is critical need for standardization of HER2 immunohistochemistry testing in the clinical laboratory setting. Recently, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the College of American ...Pathologists have submitted guidelines recommending that laboratories achieve 95% concordance between assays and observers for HER2 testing.
As a potential aid to pathologists for achieving these new guidelines, we have conducted an examination using automated quantitative analysis (AQUA analysis) to provide a standardized HER2 immunohistochemistry expression score across instruments (sites), operators, and staining runs.
We analyzed HER2 expression by immunohistochemistry in a cohort (n = 669) of invasive breast cancers in tissue microarray format across different instruments (n = 3), operators (n = 3), and staining runs (n = 3). Using light source, instrument calibration techniques, and a new generation of image analysis software, we produced normalized AQUA scores for each parameter and examined their reproducibility.
The average percent coefficients of variation across instruments, operators, and staining runs were 1.8%, 2.0%, and 5.1%, respectively. For positive/negative classification between parameters, concordance rates ranged from 94.5% to 99.3% for all cases. Differentially classified cases only occurred around the determined cut point, not over the entire distribution.
These data demonstrate that AQUA analysis can provide a standardized HER2 immunohistochemistry test that can meet current guidelines by the American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists. The use of AQUA analysis could allow for standardized and objective HER2 testing in clinical laboratories.
BackgroundThe HUDSON platform study (NCT03334617) explores investigational therapies in patients (pts) with NSCLC who progressed on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) to overcome immune resistance ...in the post-ICI setting. HUDSON allocated treatment based on biomarker selection or on time (<24 vs. ≥ 24 weeks) before progression on prior ICI. Here, we report on the results of Durvalumab (anti-PD-L1) + T-DXd (anti-HER2 antibody drug conjugate) treatment (module 6) in pts with HER2 overexpressing or HER2 mutant tumours.MethodsPts had documented advanced/metastatic NSCLC with centrally confirmed HER2 overexpression (HER2e) or activating mutations (HER2m), received platinum-based therapy and progressed on prior ICI. Pts received durvalumab 1120 mg iv and T-DXd 5.4 mg/kg iv every 3 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) per RECIST 1.1 criteria; secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and frequency of adverse events (AEs).ResultsA total of 43 pts (HER2e n=23, HER2m n=20) started therapy between 23/6/2020 and 16/9/2021. Differences in main demographic and disease characteristics at study entry were observed between HER2e and HER2m pts (sex, smoking status, extent of disease, primary resistance to prior ICI; extended report of the characteristics at the conference). Confirmed ORR was 26.1% (80% CI, 14.3–41.3) in HER2e pts and 35% (80% CI, 20.7–51.8) in HER2m pts. Median PFS was 2.8 mo (80% CI, 2.2–5.5) in HER2e pts and 5.7 mo (80% CI, 5.5–6.5) in HER2m pts. Median OS was 9.5 mo (80% CI, 6.6–12.4) in the HER2e group and 10.6 mo (80% CI, 8.9-NC) in the HER2m group. Median duration of follow-up in censored subjects was 16.5 mo (range, 7.3–24.2) in the HER2e pts and 17.1 mo (range, 4.4–27.6) in HER2m pts. Grade (G) ≥3 treatment emergent AEs (TEAEs) occurred in 55% of all pts (61% of HER2e pts, 50% of HER2m pts); the most common G ≥3 AEs were pneumonitis (none were fatal), pulmonary embolism and anemia. All grade and G≥3 treatment-related pneumonitis occurred in 9.3% (8.7% of HER2e pts, 10% of HER2m pts) and in 7% (8.7% of HER2e pts, 5% of HER2m pts) of all pts, respectively.ConclusionsDurvalumab+T-DXd combination was tolerated and showed antitumor activity in HER2 altered NSCLC in the post-ICI setting, with a trend toward higher response in HER2m pts. The small sample size limits the overall conclusions of the study.
Inherent to most tissue image analysis routines are user-defined steps whereby specific pixel intensity thresholds must be set manually to differentiate background from signal-specific pixels within ...multiple images. To reduce operator time, remove operator-to-operator variability, and to obtain objective and optimal pixel separation for each image, we have developed an unsupervised pixel-based clustering algorithm allowing for the objective and unsupervised differentiation of signal from background, and differentiation of compartment-specific pixels on an image-by-image basis. We used the Automated QUantitative Analysis (AQUA) platform, a well-established automated fluorescence-based immunohistochemistry image analysis platform used for quantification of protein expression in specific cellular compartments to demonstrate utility of this methodology. As a metric for cellular compartmentalization, we examined correlation of percentage nuclear volume with histologic grade in 3 serial sections of a large cohort (n=669) of invasive breast cancer samples. We observed a significant (P=0.002, 0.006, and 0.08) difference in mean percentage nuclear volume between low and high-grade tumors. Reproducibility of percentage nuclear volume was also significant (P<0.001) across 3 serial sections. We then quantified compartment-specific expression of 5 biomarkers in 3 cancer types for association with outcome: estrogen receptor (nuclear), progesterone receptor (nuclear), HER2 (membrane/cytoplasm), ERCC1 (nuclear), and PTEN (cytoplasm). All 5 markers showed an expected and significant (P<0.05) association with survival. This new clustering algorithm thus produces accurate and precise compartmentalization for assessment of target gene expression, and will enhance the efficiency and objectivity of the current Automated QUantitative Analysis and other image analysis platform.
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