1
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Yaeger R, McKean MA, Haq R, Beck JT, Taylor MH, Cohen JE, Bowles DW, Gadgeel SM, Mihalcioiu C, Papadopoulos KP, Diamond EL, Sturtz KB, Feng G, Drescher SK, Reddy MB, Sengupta B, Maity AK, Brown SA, Singh A, Brown EN, Baer BR, Wong J, Mou TC, Wu WI, Kahn DR, Gadal S, Rosen N, Gaudino JJ, Lee PA, Hartley DP, Rothenberg SM. A Next-Generation BRAF Inhibitor Overcomes Resistance to BRAF Inhibition in Patients with BRAF-Mutant Cancers Using Pharmacokinetics-Informed Dose Escalation. Cancer Discov 2024; 14:1599-1611. [PMID: 38691346 PMCID: PMC11372368 DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-24-0024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
RAF inhibitors have transformed treatment for patients with BRAFV600-mutant cancers, but clinical benefit is limited by adaptive induction of ERK signaling, genetic alterations that induce BRAFV600 dimerization, and poor brain penetration. Next-generation pan-RAF dimer inhibitors are limited by a narrow therapeutic index. PF-07799933 (ARRY-440) is a brain-penetrant, selective, pan-mutant BRAF inhibitor. PF-07799933 inhibited signaling in vitro, disrupted endogenous mutant-BRAF:wild-type-CRAF dimers, and spared wild-type ERK signaling. PF-07799933 ± binimetinib inhibited growth of mouse xenograft tumors driven by mutant BRAF that functions as dimers and by BRAFV600E with acquired resistance to current RAF inhibitors. We treated patients with treatment-refractory BRAF-mutant solid tumors in a first-in-human clinical trial (NCT05355701) that utilized a novel, flexible, pharmacokinetics-informed dose escalation design that allowed rapid achievement of PF-07799933 efficacious concentrations. PF-07799933 ± binimetinib was well-tolerated and resulted in multiple confirmed responses, systemically and in the brain, in patients with BRAF-mutant cancer who were refractory to approved RAF inhibitors. Significance: PF-07799933 treatment was associated with antitumor activity against BRAFV600- and non-V600-mutant cancers preclinically and in treatment-refractory patients, and PF-07799933 could be safely combined with a MEK inhibitor. The novel, rapid pharmacokinetics (PK)-informed dose escalation design provides a new paradigm for accelerating the testing of next-generation targeted therapies early in clinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rona Yaeger
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | | | - Rizwan Haq
- Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | - Matthew H Taylor
- Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Cancer Institute, Portland, Oregon
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Eli L Diamond
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - Keren B Sturtz
- Pfizer Boulder Research and Development, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Gang Feng
- Pfizer Early Clinical Development, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | | | | | | | - Arnab K Maity
- Pfizer Early Clinical Development, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Suzy A Brown
- Pfizer Boulder Research and Development, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Anurag Singh
- Pfizer Boulder Research and Development, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Eric N Brown
- Pfizer Boulder Research and Development, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Brian R Baer
- Pfizer Boulder Research and Development, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Jim Wong
- Pfizer Boulder Research and Development, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Tung-Chung Mou
- Pfizer Boulder Research and Development, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Wen-I Wu
- Pfizer Boulder Research and Development, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Dean R Kahn
- Pfizer Boulder Research and Development, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Sunyana Gadal
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - Neal Rosen
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
| | - John J Gaudino
- Pfizer Boulder Research and Development, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Patrice A Lee
- Pfizer Boulder Research and Development, Boulder, Colorado
| | | | - S Michael Rothenberg
- Pfizer Boulder Research and Development, Boulder, Colorado
- Pfizer Oncology Research and Development, La Jolla, California
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2
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Scardaci R, Berlinska E, Scaparone P, Vietti Michelina S, Garbo E, Novello S, Santamaria D, Ambrogio C. Novel RAF-directed approaches to overcome current clinical limits and block the RAS/RAF node. Mol Oncol 2024; 18:1355-1377. [PMID: 38362705 PMCID: PMC11161739 DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.13605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Mutations in the RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK pathway are frequent alterations in cancer and RASopathies, and while RAS oncogene activation alone affects 19% of all patients and accounts for approximately 3.4 million new cases every year, less frequent alterations in the cascade's downstream effectors are also involved in cancer etiology. RAS proteins initiate the signaling cascade by promoting the dimerization of RAF kinases, which can act as oncoproteins as well: BRAFV600E is the most common oncogenic driver, mutated in the 8% of all malignancies. Research in this field led to the development of drugs that target the BRAFV600-like mutations (Class I), which are now utilized in clinics, but cause paradoxical activation of the pathway and resistance development. Furthermore, they are ineffective against non-BRAFV600E malignancies that dimerize and could be either RTK/RAS independent or dependent (Class II and III, respectively), which are still lacking an effective treatment. This review discusses the recent advances in anti-RAF therapies, including paradox breakers, dimer-inhibitors, immunotherapies, and other novel approaches, critically evaluating their efficacy in overcoming the therapeutic limitations, and their putative role in blocking the RAS pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossella Scardaci
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology CenterUniversity of TorinoItaly
| | - Ewa Berlinska
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology CenterUniversity of TorinoItaly
| | - Pietro Scaparone
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology CenterUniversity of TorinoItaly
| | - Sandra Vietti Michelina
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology CenterUniversity of TorinoItaly
| | - Edoardo Garbo
- Department of OncologyUniversity of Torino, San Luigi HospitalOrbassanoItaly
| | - Silvia Novello
- Department of OncologyUniversity of Torino, San Luigi HospitalOrbassanoItaly
| | - David Santamaria
- Centro de Investigación del CáncerCSIC‐Universidad de SalamancaSpain
| | - Chiara Ambrogio
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Biotechnology CenterUniversity of TorinoItaly
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3
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Aya F, Lanuza-Gracia P, González-Pérez A, Bonnal S, Mancini E, López-Bigas N, Arance A, Valcárcel J. Genomic deletions explain the generation of alternative BRAF isoforms conferring resistance to MAPK inhibitors in melanoma. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114048. [PMID: 38614086 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Resistance to MAPK inhibitors (MAPKi), the main cause of relapse in BRAF-mutant melanoma, is associated with the production of alternative BRAF mRNA isoforms (altBRAFs) in up to 30% of patients receiving BRAF inhibitor monotherapy. These altBRAFs have been described as being generated by alternative pre-mRNA splicing, and splicing modulation has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy to overcome resistance. In contrast, we report that altBRAFs are generated through genomic deletions. Using different in vitro models of altBRAF-mediated melanoma resistance, we demonstrate the production of altBRAFs exclusively from the BRAF V600E allele, correlating with corresponding genomic deletions. Genomic deletions are also detected in tumor samples from melanoma and breast cancer patients expressing altBRAFs. Along with the identification of altBRAFs in BRAF wild-type and in MAPKi-naive melanoma samples, our results represent a major shift in our understanding of mechanisms leading to the generation of BRAF transcripts variants associated with resistance in melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Aya
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Investigacions Biomedicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pablo Lanuza-Gracia
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Abel González-Pérez
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sophie Bonnal
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Estefania Mancini
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Nuria López-Bigas
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ana Arance
- Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Investigacions Biomedicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Juan Valcárcel
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain.
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4
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van Tilburg CM, Kilburn LB, Perreault S, Schmidt R, Azizi AA, Cruz-Martínez O, Zápotocký M, Scheinemann K, Meeteren AYNSV, Sehested A, Opocher E, Driever PH, Avula S, Ziegler DS, Capper D, Koch A, Sahm F, Qiu J, Tsao LP, Blackman SC, Manley P, Milde T, Witt R, Jones DTW, Hargrave D, Witt O. LOGGIC/FIREFLY-2: a phase 3, randomized trial of tovorafenib vs. chemotherapy in pediatric and young adult patients with newly diagnosed low-grade glioma harboring an activating RAF alteration. BMC Cancer 2024; 24:147. [PMID: 38291372 PMCID: PMC10826080 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-024-11820-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pediatric low-grade glioma (pLGG) is essentially a single pathway disease, with most tumors driven by genomic alterations affecting the mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK (MAPK) pathway, predominantly KIAA1549::BRAF fusions and BRAF V600E mutations. This makes pLGG an ideal candidate for MAPK pathway-targeted treatments. The type I BRAF inhibitor, dabrafenib, in combination with the MEK inhibitor, trametinib, has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the systemic treatment of BRAF V600E-mutated pLGG. However, this combination is not approved for the treatment of patients with tumors harboring BRAF fusions as type I RAF inhibitors are ineffective in this setting and may paradoxically enhance tumor growth. The type II RAF inhibitor, tovorafenib (formerly DAY101, TAK-580, MLN2480), has shown promising activity and good tolerability in patients with BRAF-altered pLGG in the phase 2 FIREFLY-1 study, with an objective response rate (ORR) per Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology high-grade glioma (RANO-HGG) criteria of 67%. Tumor response was independent of histologic subtype, BRAF alteration type (fusion vs. mutation), number of prior lines of therapy, and prior MAPK-pathway inhibitor use. METHODS LOGGIC/FIREFLY-2 is a two-arm, randomized, open-label, multicenter, global, phase 3 trial to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of tovorafenib monotherapy vs. current standard of care (SoC) chemotherapy in patients < 25 years of age with pLGG harboring an activating RAF alteration who require first-line systemic therapy. Patients are randomized 1:1 to either tovorafenib, administered once weekly at 420 mg/m2 (not to exceed 600 mg), or investigator's choice of prespecified SoC chemotherapy regimens. The primary objective is to compare ORR between the two treatment arms, as assessed by independent review per RANO-LGG criteria. Secondary objectives include comparisons of progression-free survival, duration of response, safety, neurologic function, and clinical benefit rate. DISCUSSION The promising tovorafenib activity data, CNS-penetration properties, strong scientific rationale combined with the manageable tolerability and safety profile seen in patients with pLGG led to the SIOPe-BTG-LGG working group to nominate tovorafenib for comparison with SoC chemotherapy in this first-line phase 3 trial. The efficacy, safety, and functional response data generated from the trial may define a new SoC treatment for newly diagnosed pLGG. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05566795. Registered on October 4, 2022.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelis M van Tilburg
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Pediatric Oncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology, Immunology and Pulmonology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | | | - Rene Schmidt
- Institute of Biostatistics and Clinical Research, Münster, Germany
| | - Amedeo A Azizi
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ofelia Cruz-Martínez
- Neuro-oncology Unit, Pediatric Cancer Center, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Michal Zápotocký
- Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, Charles University, Second Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Motol, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Katrin Scheinemann
- Division of Oncology-Hematology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Switzerland, St. Gallen, Switzerland
- Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
- Department of Pediatrics, McMaster Children's Hospital and McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | | | - Astrid Sehested
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Enrico Opocher
- Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant Division, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy
| | - Pablo Hernáiz Driever
- German HIT-LOGGIC-Registry for LGG in Children and Adolescents, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Shivaram Avula
- Department of Radiology, Alder Hey Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK
| | - David S Ziegler
- Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia
- Lowy Cancer Research Centre, Children's Cancer Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - David Capper
- Department of Neuropathology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- DKTK Partner Site, Berlin, Germany
| | - Arend Koch
- Department of Neuropathology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Felix Sahm
- Department of Neuropathology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), University Hospital Heidelberg and CCU Neuropathology, German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jiaheng Qiu
- Day One Biopharmaceuticals, Brisbane, CA, USA
| | - Li-Pen Tsao
- Day One Biopharmaceuticals, Brisbane, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Till Milde
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Pediatric Oncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology, Immunology and Pulmonology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ruth Witt
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Pediatric Oncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - David T W Jones
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Pediatric Glioma Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Darren Hargrave
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK
| | - Olaf Witt
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
- Clinical Cooperation Unit Pediatric Oncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology, Immunology and Pulmonology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany.
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany.
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5
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Janku F, Kim TM, Iyer G, Spreafico A, Elez E, de Jonge M, Yamamoto N, van der Wekken AJ, Ascierto PA, Maur M, Marmé F, Kiladjian JJ, Basu S, Baffert F, Buigues A, Chen C, Cooke V, Giorgetti E, Kim J, McCarthy F, Moschetta M, Dummer R. First-in-human study of naporafenib (LXH254) with or without spartalizumab in adult patients with advanced solid tumors harboring MAPK signaling pathway alterations. Eur J Cancer 2024; 196:113458. [PMID: 38039779 PMCID: PMC11380116 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2023.113458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND We investigated naporafenib (LXH254), a pan-RAF kinase inhibitor, with or without spartalizumab, in patients with advanced solid tumors harboring MAPK pathway alterations. METHODS This first-in-human phase 1 study had two dose-escalation arms: single-agent naporafenib (starting at 100 mg once-daily [QD]) and naporafenib (starting at the recommended dose/regimen)/spartalizumab (400 mg every 4 weeks). The naporafenib/spartalizumab dose-expansion part enrolled patients with KRAS-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and NRAS-mutated melanoma. The primary objectives were to establish the maximum tolerated doses (MTD)/recommended doses for expansion (RDE) and evaluate tolerability and safety. RESULTS A total of 142 patients were included in the naporafenib dose-escalation (n = 87), naporafenib/spartalizumab dose-escalation (n = 12) and naporafenib/spartalizumab dose-expansion (n = 43) arms. The MTD/RDE of naporafenib was 600 mg twice-daily (BID). In naporafenib escalation, five patients experienced 7 dose-limiting toxicities: decreased platelet count (1200 mg QD); neuralgia, maculopapular rash, pruritus (600 mg BID); increased blood bilirubin, hyponatremia, peripheral sensory neuropathy (800 mg BID). No DLTs occurred in the naporafenib/spartalizumab arm: the RDE was established at 400 mg BID. The most common treatment-related adverse events were rash and dermatitis acneiform (each 24.1%; naporafenib), nausea and pruritus (each 33.3%; naporafenib/spartalizumab; escalation) and rash (39.5%; naporafenib/spartalizumab; expansion). Naporafenib reduced DUSP6 expression in tumors. Two partial responses (PRs) occurred in naporafenib escalation, and 1 complete response and 3 PRs in the naporafenib/spartalizumab NRAS-mutated melanoma and KRAS-mutated NSCLC arms, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Naporafenib, with or without spartalizumab, showed an acceptable safety profile, pharmacodynamic activity and limited antitumor activity. Additional naporafenib combination therapies are currently under investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filip Janku
- The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Tae Min Kim
- Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Gopakumar Iyer
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Anna Spreafico
- Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada
| | - Elena Elez
- Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | - Michela Maur
- Oncology Unit, AOU Policlinico di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Frederik Marmé
- Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, University Hospital Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | | | - Sumit Basu
- Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ, USA
| | - Fabienne Baffert
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Amparo Buigues
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Chi Chen
- China Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Shanghai, China
| | - Vesselina Cooke
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Elisa Giorgetti
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jaeyeon Kim
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Michele Moschetta
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Reinhard Dummer
- University of Zürich, Skin Cancer Center, Zürich, Switzerland.
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6
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Caksa S, Baqai U, Aplin AE. The future of targeted kinase inhibitors in melanoma. Pharmacol Ther 2022; 239:108200. [PMID: 35513054 PMCID: PMC10187889 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2022.108200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Melanoma is a cancer of the pigment-producing cells of the body and its incidence is rising. Targeted inhibitors that act against kinases in the MAPK pathway are approved for BRAF-mutant metastatic cutaneous melanoma and increase patients' survival. Response to these therapies is limited by drug resistance and is less durable than with immune checkpoint inhibition. Conversely, rare melanoma subtypes have few therapeutic options for advanced disease and MAPK pathway targeting agents show minimal anti-tumor effects. Nevertheless, there is a future for targeted kinase inhibitors in melanoma: in new applications such as adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy and in novel combinations with immunotherapies or other targeted therapies. Pre-clinical studies continue to identify tumor dependencies and their corresponding actionable drug targets, paving the way for rational targeted kinase inhibitor combinations as a personalized medicine approach for melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Signe Caksa
- Department of Cancer Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Usman Baqai
- Department of Cancer Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
| | - Andrew E Aplin
- Department of Cancer Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA; Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
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7
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Bekele RT, Samant AS, Nassar AH, So J, Garcia EP, Curran CR, Hwang JH, Mayhew DL, Nag A, Thorner AR, Börcsök J, Sztupinszki Z, Pan CX, Bellmunt J, Kwiatkowski DJ, Sonpavde GP, Van Allen EM, Mouw KW. RAF1 amplification drives a subset of bladder tumors and confers sensitivity to MAPK-directed therapeutics. J Clin Invest 2021; 131:147849. [PMID: 34554931 DOI: 10.1172/jci147849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Bladder cancer is a genetically heterogeneous disease, and novel therapeutic strategies are needed to expand treatment options and improve clinical outcomes. Here, we identified a unique subset of urothelial tumors with focal amplification of the RAF1 (CRAF) kinase gene. RAF1-amplified tumors had activation of the RAF/MEK/ERK signaling pathway and exhibited a luminal gene expression pattern. Genetic studies demonstrated that RAF1-amplified tumors were dependent upon RAF1 activity for survival, and RAF1-activated cell lines and patient-derived models were sensitive to available and emerging RAF inhibitors as well as combined RAF plus MEK inhibition. Furthermore, we found that bladder tumors with HRAS- or NRAS-activating mutations were dependent on RAF1-mediated signaling and were sensitive to RAF1-targeted therapy. Together, these data identified RAF1 activation as a dependency in a subset making up nearly 20% of urothelial tumors and suggested that targeting RAF1-mediated signaling represents a rational therapeutic strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raie T Bekele
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Amruta S Samant
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Amin H Nassar
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Medical Oncology and
| | | | | | | | - Justin H Hwang
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Medical Oncology and
| | - David L Mayhew
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Medical Oncology and
| | - Anwesha Nag
- Center for Cancer Genomics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Aaron R Thorner
- Center for Cancer Genomics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Judit Börcsök
- Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Chong-Xian Pan
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Harvard Medical School, West Roxbury, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Joaquim Bellmunt
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - David J Kwiatkowski
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Eliezer M Van Allen
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Medical Oncology and
| | - Kent W Mouw
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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