Advertisement
Original Study| Volume 23, ISSUE 1, P72-81, January 2022

Clinical Outcomes for Plasma-Based Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Versus Standard-of-Care Tissue Testing in Advanced Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

Open AccessPublished:October 10, 2021DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cllc.2021.10.001

      Abstract

      Background

      : Somatic genomic testing is recommended by numerous expert guidelines to inform targeted therapy treatment for patients with advanced nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC). The NILE study was a prospective observational study that demonstrated noninferiority of cell-free circulating tumor DNA (cfDNA)-based tumor genotyping compared to tissue-based genotyping to find targetable genomic alterations in patients with newly diagnosed nonsquamous aNSCLC. As the cohort has matured, clinical outcomes data can now be analyzed.

      Methods

      : This prospective, multicenter North American study enrolled patients with previously untreated nonsquamous aNSCLC who had standard of care (SOC) tissue genotyping performed and concurrent comprehensive cfDNA analysis (Guardant360). Patients with targetable genomic alterations, as defined by NCCN guidelines, who were treated with physician's choice of therapy had objective response rates, disease control rate, and time to treatment collected and compared to published outcomes.

      Results

      : Among 282 patients, 89 (31.6%) had an actionable biomarker, as defined by NCCN, detected by tissue (21.3%) and/or cfDNA (27.3%) analysis. Sixty-one (68.5%) of these were treated with an FDA-approved targeted therapy guided by somatic genotyping results (EGFR, ALK, ROS1). Thirty-three patients were eligible for clinical response evaluation and demonstrated an objective response rate of 58% and disease control rate of 94%. Twenty-five (76%) and 17 (52%) achieved a durable response > 6 months and 12 months, respectively. The time to treatment (TtT) was significantly faster for cfDNA-informed biomarker detection as compared to tissue genotyping (18 vs. 31 days, respectively; P = .0008).

      Conclusions

      cfDNA detects guideline-recommended biomarkers at a rate similar to tissue genotyping, and therapeutic outcomes based on plasma-based comprehensive genomic profiling are comparable to published targeted therapy outcomes with tissue profiling, even in community-based centers.

      Keywords

      Introduction

      First-line targeted therapies in advanced nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) have demonstrated durable 50% to 90% objective response rates (ORR).
      • Shaw AT
      • Kim D-W
      • Nakagawa K
      • et al.
      Crizotinib versus chemotherapy in advanced ALK-positive lung cancer.
      • Shaw AT
      • Ou S-HI
      • Bang Y-J
      • et al.
      Crizotinib in ROS1-rearranged non–small-cell lung cancer.
      • Solomon BJ
      • Mok T
      • Kim D-W
      • et al.
      First-line crizotinib versus chemotherapy in ALK-positive lung cancer.
      • Chan BA
      • Hughes BGM.
      Targeted therapy for non-small cell lung cancer: current standards and the promise of the future.
      This exceeds outcomes with chemotherapy (29%-49% ORR), immune checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy in patients with >1% PD-L1 (ICI; 38-45% ORR), and even combination chemotherapy plus ICI in aNSCLC (40%-65% ORR).
      • Reckamp K
      • Huang J.
      Immunotherapy in advanced lung cancer [Internet].
      • Rocco D
      • Gravara LD
      • Battiloro C
      • Gridelli C.
      The role of combination chemo-immunotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
      • Ai X
      • Guo X
      • Wang J
      • et al.
      Targeted therapies for advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
      Additionally, in never-smoker aNSCLC patients with oncogenic driver alterations in their tumor, first line treatment with ICI leads to poorer outcomes and is not recommended.
      • Aggarwal C
      • Rolfo CD
      • Oxnard GR
      • Gray JE
      • Sholl LM
      • Gandara DR.
      Strategies for the successful implementation of plasma-based NSCLC genotyping in clinical practice.
      ,
      • Hegde A
      • Andreev-Drakhlin AY
      • Roszik J
      • et al.
      Responsiveness to immune checkpoint inhibitors versus other systemic therapies in RET-aberrant malignancies.
      Oncologists must ensure that every patient's tumor undergoes comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) so that the opportunity for superior targeted therapy outcomes is not lost. Various guidelines and expert consensus statements, including National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), recommend plasma-based comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) concurrently with tissue genotyping or when tissue is insufficient to test for all recommended genomic targets in patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC.
      • Aggarwal C
      • Rolfo CD
      • Oxnard GR
      • Gray JE
      • Sholl LM
      • Gandara DR.
      Strategies for the successful implementation of plasma-based NSCLC genotyping in clinical practice.
      ,
      • Ettinger DS
      • Wood DE
      • Aisner DL
      • et al.
      NCCN guidelines version 7.2021 - non-small cell lung cancer.
      • Kalemkerian GP
      • Narula N
      • Kennedy EB
      • et al.
      Molecular testing guideline for the selection of patients with lung cancer for treatment with targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors: American Society of Clinical Oncology Endorsement of the College of American Pathologists/International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer/Association for Molecular Pathology Clinical Practice Guideline Update.
      • Rolfo C
      • Mack P
      • Scagliotti GV
      • et al.
      Liquid biopsy for advanced NSCLC: a consensus statement from the international association for the study of lung cancer.
      The IASLC recently published updated recommendations to adopt a “plasma first” approach for biomarker evaluation at the time of diagnosis and for monitoring the efficacy of targeted therapies in aNSCLC, as well as to identify mechanisms of resistance to targeted therapies, with repeat tissue biopsy if plasma ctDNA is uninformative.
      • Rolfo C
      • Mack P
      • Scagliotti GV
      • et al.
      Liquid biopsy for advanced NSCLC: a consensus statement from the international association for the study of lung cancer.
      However, undergenotyping of all 8 NCCN-guideline recommended genomic targets (mutations in EGFR, BRAF, MET, KRAS, rearrangements in ALK, ROS1, NTRK, RET) remains a major concern as a significant number of patients are not tested for all recommended biomarkers at diagnosis.
      • Gutierrez ME
      • Choi K
      • Lanman RB
      • et al.
      Genomic profiling of advanced non-small cell lung cancer in community settings: gaps and opportunities.
      ,
      • Leighl NB
      • Page RD
      • Raymond VM
      • et al.
      Clinical utility of comprehensive cell-free DNA analysis to identify genomic biomarkers in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic non–small cell lung cancer.
      The list of targets is rapidly growing, for example the emerging importance of KRAS G12C and NRG-1 fusions, thus comprehensive genomic profiling at diagnosis remains critical to optimize outcomes for patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma.
      After histopathological diagnosis is made on tissue biopsy specimens, many institutions conduct hotspot or single-gene testing for common genomic alterations instead of next-generation sequencing (NGS).
      • Gutierrez ME
      • Choi K
      • Lanman RB
      • et al.
      Genomic profiling of advanced non–small cell lung cancer in community settings: gaps and opportunities.
      However, serial individual-gene interrogation often depletes the small tissue biopsy specimens before all mutations are tested for, contributing to the phenomenon of undergenotyping in advanced cancer patients.
      • Pennell NA
      • Mutebi A
      • Zhou Z-Y
      • et al.
      Economic impact of next-generation sequencing versus single-gene testing to detect genomic alterations in metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer using a decision analytic model.
      In contrast, comprehensive genomic profiling with NGS, whether in tissue or blood, provides comprehensive genomic profiling for all potential targetable alterations in a single step. However, up to 40% of tumor biopsies are inadequate or insufficient for molecular analysis.
      • Meric-Bernstam F
      • Brusco L
      • Shaw K
      • et al.
      Feasibility of large-scale genomic testing to facilitate enrollment onto genomically matched clinical trials.
      • Aggarwal C
      • Thompson JC
      • Black TA
      • et al.
      Clinical implications of plasma-based genotyping with the delivery of personalized therapy in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
      • Thompson JC
      • Yee SS
      • Troxel AB
      • et al.
      Detection of therapeutically targetable driver and resistance mutations in lung cancer patients by next-generation sequencing of cell-free circulating tumor DNA.
      The Noninvasive versus Invasive Lung Evaluation (NILE) prospective, multicenter study reported that guideline-recommended biomarkers were detected by cfDNA genotyping (27.3%) at a rate similar to tissue genotyping (21.3%) (P < .0001 for noninferiority of cfDNA molecular testing). This study confirmed noninferiority of cfDNA genotyping as compared to tissue NGS, a higher rate of successful interrogation of 8 NCCN recommended biomarkers, with a faster turnaround time than tissue NGS (9 days vs. 15 days, respectively; P < .0001).
      • Leighl NB
      • Page RD
      • Raymond VM
      • et al.
      Clinical utility of comprehensive cell-free DNA analysis to identify genomic biomarkers in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic non–small cell lung cancer.
      Additionally, a prospective single-center study of 323 patients with aNSCLC who had genotyping performed on tissue biopsy and plasma cfDNA found that integrating plasma NGS into routine management of stage IV NSCLC led to a 15% increase in the detection of therapeutically targetable mutations and significantly improved patient access to targeted therapy, consistent with other studies comparing plasma versus tissue NGS in aNSCLC.
      • Aggarwal C
      • Thompson JC
      • Black TA
      • et al.
      Clinical implications of plasma-based genotyping with the delivery of personalized therapy in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
      ,
      • Lanman RB
      • Mortimer SA
      • Zill OA
      • et al.
      Analytical and clinical validation of a digital sequencing panel for quantitative, highly accurate evaluation of cell-free circulating tumor DNA.
      ,
      • Park S
      • Olsen S
      • Ku BM
      • et al.
      High concordance of actionable genomic alterations identified between circulating tumor DNA–based and tissue-based next-generation sequencing testing in advanced non–small cell lung cancer: the Korean lung liquid versus invasive biopsy program.
      The clinical utility of a predictive biomarker assay is whether it optimizes treatment selection and yields superior outcomes for patients. Multiple head-to-head retrospective studies in aNSCLC have shown that plasma-based CGP leads to treatment outcomes comparable to tissue-based genomic testing, and multiple retrospective analyses revealed that the addition of cfDNA testing increased the identification of driver mutations by 15%-65% over SOC tissue-based testing alone at diagnosis.
      • Aggarwal C
      • Thompson JC
      • Black TA
      • et al.
      Clinical implications of plasma-based genotyping with the delivery of personalized therapy in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
      ,
      • Mack PC
      • Banks KC
      • Espenschied CR
      • et al.
      Spectrum of driver mutations and clinical impact of circulating tumor DNA analysis in non–small cell lung cancer: analysis of over 8000 cases.
      • Odegaard JI
      • Vincent JJ
      • Mortimer S
      • et al.
      Validation of a plasma-based comprehensive cancer genotyping assay utilizing orthogonal tissue- and plasma-based methodologies.
      • Tran H
      • Lam V
      • Vasquez M
      • et al.
      P1.13-37 clinical evaluation of plasma-based (cfDNA) genomic profiling in over 1,000 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
      • Reckamp KL
      • Patil T
      • Kirtane K
      • et al.
      Duration of targeted therapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients identified by circulating tumor DNA analysis.
      Additional prospective studies evaluating plasma-based CGP outcomes in first-line aNSCLC are the global FLAURA
      • Mok TS
      • Wu Y-L
      • Ahn M-J
      • et al.
      Osimertinib or platinum-pemetrexed in EGFR T790M-positive lung cancer.
      trial, the Spanish Lung Liquid versus Invasive Biopsy Program (SLLIP).
      • Palmero R
      • Taus A
      • Viteri S
      • et al.
      Biomarker discovery and outcomes for comprehensive cell-free circulating tumor DNA versus standard-of-care tissue testing in advanced non–small-cell lung cancer.
      • Paik PK
      • Felip E
      • Veillon R
      • et al.
      Tepotinib in non–small-cell lung cancer with met exon 14 skipping mutations.
      • Gadgeel SM
      • Mok TSK
      • Peters S
      • et al.
      Phase II/III blood first assay screening trial (BFAST) in patients (pts) with treatment-naïve NSCLC: Initial results from the ALK+ cohort.
      Both the FLAURA and SLLIP studies were conducted solely in academic centers, and neither study examined how plasma-based CGP impacted physician treatment choice and subsequent outcomes in a real world, community-based setting.
      The NILE study is a prospective first-line aNSCLC study that included multiple community oncology centers. The primary endpoint of noninferiority to SOC tissue-based CGP was demonstrated, however the patient outcomes had not matured at the time of the initial publication.
      • Leighl NB
      • Page RD
      • Raymond VM
      • et al.
      Clinical utility of comprehensive cell-free DNA analysis to identify genomic biomarkers in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic non–small cell lung cancer.
      Treatment in NILE was based on physician choice, and not defined by study protocol. Here we evaluate the impact of plasma-based CGP on physician choice of targeted therapy and subsequent outcomes based primarily in a real-world community care setting in North America.

      Patients and Methods

      Patients

      The NILE study (ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT03615443) enrolled 307 patients at 28 North American Centers (27 community enrolled 82% of patients, 2 academic sites enrolled 18% of patients) with previously untreated, stage IIIB/IV nonsquamous advanced NSCLC undergoing physician's choice of SOC tissue genotyping. Patients were prospectively consented between July 2016 and April 2018 to this institutional review board-approved study.
      This study was conducted in accordance with the U.S. Common Rule and GCP. Written informed consent was obtained from each patient or their guardian.

      Study Procedures

      SOC tissue genotyping included genomic testing (NGS, PCR “hotspot” testing, FISH and/or IHC, or Sanger sequencing) and PD-L1 expression analysis. SOC tissue genotyping was required per study protocol; each site performed the tissue testing currently in process at each respective which may vary across sites. Patients provided a pretreatment blood sample for cfDNA analysis using a CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited, comprehensive NGS assay (Guardant360; Guardant Health). The cfDNA test interrogated single-nucleotide variants (SNV) in 73 genes, insertion-deletion (indel) and fusion events, and copy number amplifications in select genes including all 8 NCCN guideline-recommended biomarkers , including KRAS. The cfDNA test has demonstrated extensive analytical and clinical validity and clinical utility.
      • Aggarwal C
      • Thompson JC
      • Black TA
      • et al.
      Clinical implications of plasma-based genotyping with the delivery of personalized therapy in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
      ,
      • Mack PC
      • Banks KC
      • Espenschied CR
      • et al.
      Spectrum of driver mutations and clinical impact of circulating tumor DNA analysis in non–small cell lung cancer: analysis of over 8000 cases.
      • Odegaard JI
      • Vincent JJ
      • Mortimer S
      • et al.
      Validation of a plasma-based comprehensive cancer genotyping assay utilizing orthogonal tissue- and plasma-based methodologies.
      • Tran H
      • Lam V
      • Vasquez M
      • et al.
      P1.13-37 clinical evaluation of plasma-based (cfDNA) genomic profiling in over 1,000 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
      • Reckamp KL
      • Patil T
      • Kirtane K
      • et al.
      Duration of targeted therapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients identified by circulating tumor DNA analysis.
      ,
      • Zill OA
      • Banks KC
      • Fairclough SR
      • et al.
      The landscape of actionable genomic alterations in cell-free circulating tumor DNA from 21,807 advanced cancer patients.
      A clinical report of the cfDNA NGS results was issued to the ordering provider.

      Treatments and Clinical Outcomes

      Patients were treated with physician's choice of first-line therapy. Re-staging scans were obtained per SOC, at approximately every 8 weeks for the first 6 months, then every 12 weeks afterwards. Variability in timing of scans may have occurred depending on the study schedule for specific treatment regimens. Patients were followed for 12 months after starting first line therapy or until disease progression or death.
      ORR were measured for patients whose tumors were positive for EGFR activating mutations, ALK or ROS1 fusions by Guardant360 and/or tissue testing, defined in accordance with RECIST v1.1 and confirmed by the treating oncologist.
      • Eisenhauer EA
      • Therasse P
      • Bogaerts J
      • et al.
      New response evaluation criteria in solid tumours: revised RECIST guideline (version 1.1).
      Disease control rate (DCR) was defined as the percentage of patients who achieved complete response, partial response, or stable disease for at least 12 months. Progression-free survival was defined as the time of treatment initiation to the time of progression, defined as the rate of tumor progression, either by physical examination or imaging, or death, as defined by RECIST v1.1.
      Data on tumor stage, treatment regimens, start and stop dates of therapy, baseline and follow-up imaging dates and results, target lesion diameter at baseline and follow-up, overall response rate and progression-free survival by RECIST v1.1 were collected.

      Statistical Analysis

      Descriptive analyses were performed for this study and included ORR as defined by the number of responders divided by the number of patients qualified for tumor response analysis; DCR as defined by the number of patients who achieved clinical CR, PR, or SD; PFS as defined by the time between treatment initiation and identify disease progression on CT scan; and Time to treatment defined as the median number of days between ordering molecular testing and date of initiating targeted therapy; the median of this metric was calculated for each testing modality (blood and tissue). Statistical significance was calculated by unpaired t-test using GraphPad Prism version 8.4.2 for macOS, GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, www.graphpad.com

      Results

      A total of 307 patients with newly diagnosed advanced nonsquamous NSCLC were enrolled across 28 centers onto the NILE study, and 282 were eligible for analysis (Figure 1). Eighty-nine patients (31.6%) had an NCCN-guideline recommended biomarker identified by tissue (n = 60, 21.3%) and/or cfDNA profiling (n = 77, 27.3%). cfDNA testing identified a therapeutically targetable alteration in 29 patients that was not identified in tissue. Sixty-one of the 89 patients (68.5%) were treated with a targeted therapy in the first line setting and the reasons for choosing an alternate therapy were not provided by clinicians. A total of 33 patients were confirmed as evaluable at the end of the study. Many patients were nonevaluable as they did not receive targeted therapy in the first line, were lost to follow up, discontinued therapy due to toxicity, or had lack of tumor assessment during the study (N = 28).
      Figure 1:
      Figure 1Consort diagram of patients enrolled onto NILE study.
      The time to treatment in this 33-patient cohort was significantly faster for blood-based profiling as compared to tissue-based profiling (median 18 vs. 31 days, respectively; P = .0008; Figure 2).
      Figure 2:
      Figure 2Time to targeted therapy initiation (in days) based on molecular results derived from blood versus tissue (P = .0008).
      Figure 3:
      Figure 3Swimmer's plot of the 33 evaluable patients treated with biomarker-guided targeted therapy. Colors of bars reflect first-line TKI, symbols represent outcome of CT scans. The variant identified in each patient is listed within the colored bar; ALK = ALK fusion; ROS1 = ROS1 fusion; Ex19del/L858R/T790M/G719A/L833V = EGFR drivers.
      Patient demographics for the 33 evaluable and patients are listed in Table 1. The driver gene alterations identified in the cohort were EGFR exon 19 deletion (n = 16), EGFR L858R (n = 5), EGFR G719A (n = 3), EGFR T790M (n = 1), ALK fusion (n = 6), and ROS1 fusion (n = 1). Nineteen of the 33 patients achieved a CR or PR resulting in an ORR of 58% by RECIST 1.1. One (3%) had a complete response (CR), 18 (55%) had a partial response (PR), 12 (36%) had stable disease (SD), and 2 (6%) had progressive disease (PD) as their best response to first-line targeted therapy, resulting in a DCR of 94%. Thirteen of the 26 (50%) patients with activating EGFR alterations, and 6 of 6 (100%) ALK-fusion positive, achieved a best overall response of CR or PR (Table 2). Of the 13 patients with EGFR-positive disease who achieved CR+PR, 12 were common driver mutations (exon 19 del, L585R), and 1 patient had a rare L833V mutation. Interestingly, one T790M alteration was detected as a germline alteration at diagnosis. This patient was treated with Osimertinib and achieved a stable disease and remained on therapy >12 months. A swimmer's plot of the duration of targeted therapy and clinical response of the target lesion at each scan is shown in Figure 3
      Table 1Demographics of 33 RECIST Evaluable Patients
      Evaluable PatientsEvaluable Percentage
      Sex
       Female1855
       Male1545
      Median age (range) at diagnosis
       66 (
      • Mok TS
      • Wu Y-L
      • Ahn M-J
      • et al.
      Osimertinib or platinum-pemetrexed in EGFR T790M-positive lung cancer.
      -85) y
      -
      Race
       White2370
       Black or African American26
       Asian721
       Native American
       Unknown13
      Ethnicity
       Hispanic39
       Non-Hispanic3091
      ECOG status at enrollment
       0721
       12267
       226
       3
       Unknown26
      History of prior chemotherapy for early-stage NSCLC
       Yes39
       No3091
      Stage of NSCLC at enrollment
       IIIb13
       IV3297
      Type of NSCLC at enrollment
       Adenocarcinoma33100
       Large cell
       Other
      Smoking status at enrollment
       Nonsmoker1958
       Current smoker1
       Previous smoker1339
       Unknown
      Oncogenic driver identified at diagnosis by plasma and/or tissue
       EGFR2679
        Exon 19 del1648
        L858R515
        G719A39
        T790M13
        L833V13
       ALK Fusion618
       ROS1 Fusion13
      Table 2RECIST Responses Across the Evaluable Patient Cohort
      Number (N = 33)Percent
      Overall responseCR13
      PR1855
      SD1236
      PD26
      Best overall response (BOR)CR + PR1958
      Disease control rate (DCR)CR + PR + SD3194
      Durable response at 6 monthsCR + PR + SD2576
      Event-free survival at 12 monthsCR + PR + SD1752
      EGFR BORCR + PR1350
      Common EGFR

      (Exon19, L858R)
      1292
      EGFR rare

      (G719A, L833V)
      18
      Germline EGFR T790M00
      ALK BORCR + PR6100
      ROS1 BORCR + PR00
      Twenty-five (76%) patients achieved a durable response of at least 6 months and 17 (52%) achieved a durable response of at least 12 months or longer. The majority of patients had a decrease in target lesion size while on targeted therapy (Figure 4). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was not determined, as the majority of patients did not progress while on study, and 52% of patients exhibited event-free survival at 12 months. For patients who did progress on study, the median time to progression was 185 days.
      Figure 4:
      Figure 4Waterfall plot measuring the change in target lesion volume as measured by CT scans. Dotted line represents a 30% decrease in target lesion volume consistent with partial response. Each color represents the best response of the target lesion while on targeted therapy. Treatment for each patient and the variant allele frequency (VAF) of the target gene alteration is listed below the table. The variant identified in each patient is listed under the target alteration VAF; ALK = ALK fusion; ROS1 = ROS1 fusion; Ex19del/L858R/T790M/G719A/L833V = EGFR drivers.

      Discussion

      In a large prospective, North American multicenter study conducted in mostly community-based sites, the real-world impact of cfDNA genotyping on physician first-line treatment choice and patient outcomes is evaluated for the first time in previously untreated nonsquamous aNSCLC. This study demonstrated a significant advantage for blood-based NGS to reduce the time to treatment initiation in the first line setting as compared to tissue-based profiling. Objective response and disease control rates for patients treated with targeted therapy in this cfDNA study were consistent with prior results of phase III trials comparing the efficacy of targeted therapies based on tissue-detected genomic targets in advanced NSCLC patients.
      • Shaw AT
      • Kim D-W
      • Nakagawa K
      • et al.
      Crizotinib versus chemotherapy in advanced ALK-positive lung cancer.
      • Shaw AT
      • Ou S-HI
      • Bang Y-J
      • et al.
      Crizotinib in ROS1-rearranged non–small-cell lung cancer.
      • Solomon BJ
      • Mok T
      • Kim D-W
      • et al.
      First-line crizotinib versus chemotherapy in ALK-positive lung cancer.
      • Chan BA
      • Hughes BGM.
      Targeted therapy for non-small cell lung cancer: current standards and the promise of the future.
      In the current study, patients with EGFR alterations achieved an ORR of 50%, while patients with ALK or ROS1 fusions achieved an ORR of 100%. PFS for the entire cohort was not determined, as a majority of patients did not progress while on study. For patients who did progress on study, the median time to progression was 185 days. Importantly, the VAF of the target alteration did not impact the patient's response to targeted therapy. Additional noteworthy findings include 3 patients with EGFR G719A alterations treated with afatinib, all achieving stable disease, with 2 patients having a durable response for ≥12 months, confirming the importance of EGFR whole exon testing versus hotspot testing that might miss uncommon EGFR mutations.
      • Wu J-Y
      • Yu C-J
      • Chang Y-C
      • Yang C-H
      • Shih J-Y
      • Yang P-C
      Effectiveness of tyrosine kinase inhibitors on “uncommon” epidermal growth factor receptor mutations of unknown clinical significance in non-small cell lung cancer.
      Patient 14 harbored EGFR L833V, a mutation not included in NCCN guidelines, and was treated with Osimertinib and achieved a partial response for a duration of >12 months, continuing therapy after the study period ended. Patient 17 harbored an EML4-ALK fusion at 0.05% variant allele frequency (VAF) and achieved a PR on crizotinib, consistent with retrospective analyses finding that the VAF of the target driver gene alteration does not affect clinical response to targeted therapy in aNSCLC.
      • Mack PC
      • Banks KC
      • Espenschied CR
      • et al.
      Spectrum of driver mutations and clinical impact of circulating tumor DNA analysis in non–small cell lung cancer: analysis of over 8000 cases.
      ,
      • Jacobs MT
      • Mohindra NA
      • Shantzer L
      • et al.
      Use of low-frequency driver mutations detected by cell-free circulating tumor DNA to guide targeted therapy in non–small-cell lung cancer: a multicenter case series.
      • Kim ST
      • Banks KC
      • Lee S-H
      • et al.
      Prospective feasibility study for using cell-free circulating tumor DNA–guided therapy in refractory metastatic solid cancers: an interim analysis.
      • Helman E
      • Nguyen M
      • Karlovich CA
      • et al.
      Cell-free DNA next-generation sequencing prediction of response and resistance to third-generation EGFR inhibitor.
      There are several limitations to address in this study. Physicians’ choice of SOC tissue testing varied across the cohort. Tissue testing varied significantly and consisted of hot-spot PCR-based, IHC/ISH, and/or CGP by NGS, which have varying degrees of sensitivity and specificity for identifying genomic alterations.
      • Leighl NB
      • Page RD
      • Raymond VM
      • et al.
      Clinical utility of comprehensive cell-free DNA analysis to identify genomic biomarkers in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic non–small cell lung cancer.
      Patients were followed for only 12-months after starting targeted therapy, and the median time on targeted therapy is typically greater than 12 months. Not all patients who were found to harbor an NCCN-guideline recommended biomarker received targeted therapy in the first line, and the reasons for choosing an alternate therapy were not provided. For the 28 patients treated with targeted therapy in the first line but not evaluable for RECIST response, these patients were lost to follow up, had lack of tumor reassessment during the study, or discontinued therapy due to toxicity. While limiting the depth of comparative analysis, this allowance reflects real-world testing practices in the community, a primary aim of this study. Study treatments were physicians’ choice and not prescribed by study protocol, resulting in a variety of therapies being included in the outcomes analysis. The testing modality, plasma versus tissue, used to make a treatment decision for the patient was not identified by the treating oncologists and thus we could not determine which assay was used to guide therapy in every case. Although the sample size with completed outcomes in the NILE study is limited, this is typical of studies aiming to collect oncology research data from community-based sites.
      • Benson AB
      • Farber M
      • Peller J.
      Hurdles to data collection in the oncology community.
      It is important to understand why aNSCLC patients with actionable biomarkers did not receive approved targeted therapy as the treatment of choice in first line. A recent international survey of oncologists found that the majority of oncologists (60%) in North America did not base their treatment decision for aNSCLC patients on genomic information, and 21% of oncologists determined the treatment regimen for their patients before mutation results were available, despite clear evidence of the superior clinical efficacy and lower toxicity usually associated with molecularly matched therapy.
      • Mason C
      • Ellis PG
      • Lokay K
      • et al.
      Patterns of biomarker testing rates and appropriate use of targeted therapy in the first-line, metastatic non-small cell lung cancer treatment setting.
      In summary, this update of the NILE study demonstrates that a comprehensive cfDNA assay led to first-line treatment choice and subsequent targeted therapy outcomes similar to outcomes based on tissue-guided therapy, with a faster time to treatment initiation. Although the evaluable cohort is not large, this prospective North American, real-world practice study confirms findings from a similar prospective multicenter study of Spanish academic centers, and has the added value of demonstrating improved outcomes in real-world practice settings
      • Palmero R
      • Taus A
      • Viteri S
      • et al.
      Biomarker discovery and outcomes for comprehensive cell-free circulating tumor DNA versus standard-of-care tissue testing in advanced non–small-cell lung cancer.
      . The addition of liquid biopsy to SOC tissue testing at diagnosis increases the number of patients found to have an oncogenic driver mutation and helps to overcome the limitations of tissue testing including insufficient material, the need to re-biopsy a patient's disease, and delays in time to treatment. The turnaround time for a liquid biopsy assay is significantly shorter than that of tissue testing, helping patients to get on therapy much faster. The complementarity of both assays in tandem has been acknowledged in numerous clinical studies, including the recently updated IASCL recommendations on liquid biopsy in aNSCLC,
      • Rolfo C
      • Mack P
      • Scagliotti GV
      • et al.
      Liquid biopsy for advanced NSCLC: a consensus statement from the international association for the study of lung cancer.
      and supports a “blood first” approach to comprehensive genomic profiling at diagnosis and subsequent treatment based on cfDNA result, with reflex to tissue testing if cfDNA testing is negative. This approach should be followed by tissue testing to assure that the search for targetable mutations is optimized in every patient with advanced NSCLC.
      • Rolfo C
      • Mack P
      • Scagliotti GV
      • et al.
      Liquid biopsy for advanced NSCLC: a consensus statement from the international association for the study of lung cancer.

      Clinical Practice Points

      • Somatic genotyping of advanced NSCLC is impertive to guide targeted therapy options for first-line treatment, proven to improve outcomes in patients who harbor an oncogenic driver as compared to chemotherapy regimens.
      • Liquid biopsies have demonstrated high concordance with tissue genotyping and are a fast and reliable method to perform comprehensive genomic profiling to identify oncogenic drivers of NSCLC.
      • Patients treated with targeted therapy guided by liquid biopsy results achieve clinical outcomes at rates similar to tissue genotyping, and are able to start therapy significantly faster due to the shorter turnaround time of the assay.

      Statement of Translational Relevance

      Expert guidelines recommend somatic genotyping for up to 8 molecular biomarkers to inform first-line targeted therapy options for patients with advanced nonsquamous, non–small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). However, challenges remain with collecting adequate tissue biopsies to successfully perform comprehensive genomic profiling. Plasma-based genotyping (liquid biopsy) has previously demonstrated noninferiority to tissue biopsy for identifying targetable biomarkers in patients with NSCLC and achieves genotyping at a faster rate than tissue. This study analyzed clinical outcomes of patients who were treated with targeted therapy in the first-line setting based on liquid biopsy results and demonstrated that patients respond to therapy at rates similar to those treated based on tissue-genotyping results, while able to initiate targeted therapy significantly faster (18 vs. 31 days, respectively). These findings support the utility of liquid biopsy at diagnosis of advanced disease to inform targeted therapy options in a fast, noninvasive manner.

      Acknowledgments

      Guardant Health provided funding for this study.

      Disclosure

      Ray D. Page: Employee at The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders; Honoraria from Cardinal Health; Consulting or Advisory role for AstraZeneca, Tesaro, Amgen, Hoffman LaRoche, Quality Cancer Care Alliance; Research funding from E.R. Squibb Sons, Gilead Sciences, Takeda, AstraZeneca, Genentech, F.Hoffmann LaRoche, Janssen, Celgene, Lilly; Travel and accommodations from Amgen, Taiho Pharmaceutical, Taked. Leylah M Drusbosky: Employee and stockholder of Guardant Health. Hiba I Dada: Employee and stockholder of Guardant Health. Victoria M Raymond: Employee and stockholder of Guardant Health. Karen Reckamp: Honoraria from Calithera, Euclises, Guardant Health, Precision Health, EMD Soreno, Genentech, Janssen, Lilly, Merck KGA, Seattle Genetics, Takeda, Tesaro; Research support from Abbvie, Acea, Adaptimmune, Guardant Health, Molecular Partners, Seattle Genetics, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Genentech, GSK, Janssen, Loxo, Spectrum, Takeda, Xcovery, Zeno, Calithera, Daiichi Sankyo, Elevation Oncology. Miguel A Villalona-Calero: Advisory Board: Lilly. Daniel Dix: Stockholder of Guardant Health. Justin I Odegaard: Employee and stockholder of Guardant Health. Richard B Lanman: Employee and stockholder of Guardant Health. Vassiliki A Papadimitrakopolou: Employee of Pfizer Inc; Honoraria: F. Hoffman-La Roche; research funding and scientific advisor: AstraZeneca, BMS, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Merck, F. Hoffman-La Roche, Nektar Therapeutics, Janssen, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, scientific advisor: AbbVie, Araxes, Arrys Therapeutics, Bolt Therapeutics, Clovis Oncology, Exelixis, G2 Innovation, Gritstone, Ideaya, Leeds Biolabs, Loxo Oncology, Takeda, Tesaro, TRM Oncology; research funding: Checkmate, Incyte. Natasha B Leigh: Research funding received from Guardant Health, Roche, Inivata; Honoraria for CME lectures from Roche, MSD, BMS.

      References

        • Shaw AT
        • Kim D-W
        • Nakagawa K
        • et al.
        Crizotinib versus chemotherapy in advanced ALK-positive lung cancer.
        N Engl J Med. 2013; 368: 2385-2394
        • Shaw AT
        • Ou S-HI
        • Bang Y-J
        • et al.
        Crizotinib in ROS1-rearranged non–small-cell lung cancer.
        N Engl J Med. 2014; 371: 1963-1971
        • Solomon BJ
        • Mok T
        • Kim D-W
        • et al.
        First-line crizotinib versus chemotherapy in ALK-positive lung cancer.
        N Engl J Med. 2014; 371: 2167-2177
        • Chan BA
        • Hughes BGM.
        Targeted therapy for non-small cell lung cancer: current standards and the promise of the future.
        Transl Lung Cancer Res. 2015; 4 ([Internet][cited 2020 Dec 2] Available at): 36-46
        • Reckamp K
        • Huang J.
        Immunotherapy in advanced lung cancer [Internet].
        Cancer Network. 2020; ([cited 2020 Dec 15]Available at:)
        • Rocco D
        • Gravara LD
        • Battiloro C
        • Gridelli C.
        The role of combination chemo-immunotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
        Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2019; 19: 561-568
        • Ai X
        • Guo X
        • Wang J
        • et al.
        Targeted therapies for advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
        Oncotarget. 2018; 9: 37589-37607
        • Aggarwal C
        • Rolfo CD
        • Oxnard GR
        • Gray JE
        • Sholl LM
        • Gandara DR.
        Strategies for the successful implementation of plasma-based NSCLC genotyping in clinical practice.
        Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2020; : 56-62
        • Hegde A
        • Andreev-Drakhlin AY
        • Roszik J
        • et al.
        Responsiveness to immune checkpoint inhibitors versus other systemic therapies in RET-aberrant malignancies.
        ESMO Open. 2020; 5: e000799
        • Ettinger DS
        • Wood DE
        • Aisner DL
        • et al.
        NCCN guidelines version 7.2021 - non-small cell lung cancer.
        NCCN Clin Pract Guidel Oncol NCCN Guidelines. 2021; : 38
        • Kalemkerian GP
        • Narula N
        • Kennedy EB
        • et al.
        Molecular testing guideline for the selection of patients with lung cancer for treatment with targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors: American Society of Clinical Oncology Endorsement of the College of American Pathologists/International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer/Association for Molecular Pathology Clinical Practice Guideline Update.
        J Clin Oncol Off J Am Soc Clin Oncol. 2018; 36: 911-919
        • Rolfo C
        • Mack P
        • Scagliotti GV
        • et al.
        Liquid biopsy for advanced NSCLC: a consensus statement from the international association for the study of lung cancer.
        J Thorac Oncol. 2021; 16 (S155608642102284X)
        • Gutierrez ME
        • Choi K
        • Lanman RB
        • et al.
        Genomic profiling of advanced non-small cell lung cancer in community settings: gaps and opportunities.
        Clin Lung Cancer. 2017; 18: 651-659
        • Leighl NB
        • Page RD
        • Raymond VM
        • et al.
        Clinical utility of comprehensive cell-free DNA analysis to identify genomic biomarkers in patients with newly diagnosed metastatic non–small cell lung cancer.
        Clin Cancer Res. 2019; 25: 4691-4700
        • Gutierrez ME
        • Choi K
        • Lanman RB
        • et al.
        Genomic profiling of advanced non–small cell lung cancer in community settings: gaps and opportunities.
        Clin Lung Cancer. 2017; 18: 651-659
        • Pennell NA
        • Mutebi A
        • Zhou Z-Y
        • et al.
        Economic impact of next-generation sequencing versus single-gene testing to detect genomic alterations in metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer using a decision analytic model.
        JCO Precis Oncol. 2019; 3: 1-9
        • Meric-Bernstam F
        • Brusco L
        • Shaw K
        • et al.
        Feasibility of large-scale genomic testing to facilitate enrollment onto genomically matched clinical trials.
        J Clin Oncol Off J Am Soc Clin Oncol. 2015; 33: 2753-2762
        • Aggarwal C
        • Thompson JC
        • Black TA
        • et al.
        Clinical implications of plasma-based genotyping with the delivery of personalized therapy in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
        JAMA Oncol. 2019; 5: 173-180
        • Thompson JC
        • Yee SS
        • Troxel AB
        • et al.
        Detection of therapeutically targetable driver and resistance mutations in lung cancer patients by next-generation sequencing of cell-free circulating tumor DNA.
        Clin Cancer Res Off J Am Assoc Cancer Res. 2016; 22: 5772-5782
        • Lanman RB
        • Mortimer SA
        • Zill OA
        • et al.
        Analytical and clinical validation of a digital sequencing panel for quantitative, highly accurate evaluation of cell-free circulating tumor DNA.
        PloS One. 2015; 10e0140712
        • Park S
        • Olsen S
        • Ku BM
        • et al.
        High concordance of actionable genomic alterations identified between circulating tumor DNA–based and tissue-based next-generation sequencing testing in advanced non–small cell lung cancer: the Korean lung liquid versus invasive biopsy program.
        Cancer. 2021; 127 (cncr.33571): 3019-3028https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33571
        • Mack PC
        • Banks KC
        • Espenschied CR
        • et al.
        Spectrum of driver mutations and clinical impact of circulating tumor DNA analysis in non–small cell lung cancer: analysis of over 8000 cases.
        Cancer. 2020; 126: 3219-3228
        • Odegaard JI
        • Vincent JJ
        • Mortimer S
        • et al.
        Validation of a plasma-based comprehensive cancer genotyping assay utilizing orthogonal tissue- and plasma-based methodologies.
        Clin Cancer Res Off J Am Assoc Cancer Res. 2018; 24: 3539-3549
        • Tran H
        • Lam V
        • Vasquez M
        • et al.
        P1.13-37 clinical evaluation of plasma-based (cfDNA) genomic profiling in over 1,000 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
        J Thorac Oncol. 2018; 13: S596-S597
        • Reckamp KL
        • Patil T
        • Kirtane K
        • et al.
        Duration of targeted therapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients identified by circulating tumor DNA analysis.
        Clin Lung Cancer [Internet]. 2020; ([cited 2020 Jun 23];0(0)Available at:)
        • Mok TS
        • Wu Y-L
        • Ahn M-J
        • et al.
        Osimertinib or platinum-pemetrexed in EGFR T790M-positive lung cancer.
        N Engl J Med. 2017; 376: 629-640
        • Palmero R
        • Taus A
        • Viteri S
        • et al.
        Biomarker discovery and outcomes for comprehensive cell-free circulating tumor DNA versus standard-of-care tissue testing in advanced non–small-cell lung cancer.
        JCO Precis Oncol. 2021; 5: 93-102
        • Paik PK
        • Felip E
        • Veillon R
        • et al.
        Tepotinib in non–small-cell lung cancer with met exon 14 skipping mutations.
        N Engl J Med. 2020; 383: 931-943
        • Gadgeel SM
        • Mok TSK
        • Peters S
        • et al.
        Phase II/III blood first assay screening trial (BFAST) in patients (pts) with treatment-naïve NSCLC: Initial results from the ALK+ cohort.
        Ann Oncol. 2019; 30: v918
        • Zill OA
        • Banks KC
        • Fairclough SR
        • et al.
        The landscape of actionable genomic alterations in cell-free circulating tumor DNA from 21,807 advanced cancer patients.
        Clin Cancer Res Off J Am Assoc Cancer Res. 2018; 24: 3528-3538
        • Eisenhauer EA
        • Therasse P
        • Bogaerts J
        • et al.
        New response evaluation criteria in solid tumours: revised RECIST guideline (version 1.1).
        Eur J Cancer. 2009; 45: 228-247https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2008.10.026
        • Wu J-Y
        • Yu C-J
        • Chang Y-C
        • Yang C-H
        • Shih J-Y
        • Yang P-C
        Effectiveness of tyrosine kinase inhibitors on “uncommon” epidermal growth factor receptor mutations of unknown clinical significance in non-small cell lung cancer.
        Clin Cancer Res. 2011; 17: 3812-3821
        • Jacobs MT
        • Mohindra NA
        • Shantzer L
        • et al.
        Use of low-frequency driver mutations detected by cell-free circulating tumor DNA to guide targeted therapy in non–small-cell lung cancer: a multicenter case series.
        JCO Precis Oncol. 2018; 2: 1-10https://doi.org/10.1200/PO.17.00318
        • Kim ST
        • Banks KC
        • Lee S-H
        • et al.
        Prospective feasibility study for using cell-free circulating tumor DNA–guided therapy in refractory metastatic solid cancers: an interim analysis.
        JCO Precis Oncol. 2017; 1: 1-15https://doi.org/10.1200/PO.16.00059
        • Helman E
        • Nguyen M
        • Karlovich CA
        • et al.
        Cell-free DNA next-generation sequencing prediction of response and resistance to third-generation EGFR inhibitor.
        Clin Lung Cancer. 2018; 19 (e7): 518-530
        • Benson AB
        • Farber M
        • Peller J.
        Hurdles to data collection in the oncology community.
        Oncol Issues. 2012; 27: 46-49
        • Mason C
        • Ellis PG
        • Lokay K
        • et al.
        Patterns of biomarker testing rates and appropriate use of targeted therapy in the first-line, metastatic non-small cell lung cancer treatment setting.
        J Clin Pathw Found Value-Based Care. 2018; 4: 49-54