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Observational Study
. 2022 Jan 31;20(1):48.
doi: 10.1186/s12916-022-02244-0.

Circulating tumor cell gene expression and plasma AR gene copy number as biomarkers for castration-resistant prostate cancer patients treated with cabazitaxel

Giorgia Gurioli #  1 , Vincenza Conteduca #  2   3 , Nicole Brighi  2 , Emanuela Scarpi  4 , Umberto Basso  5 , Giuseppe Fornarini  6 , Alessandra Mosca  7 , Maurizio Nicodemo  8 , Giuseppe Luigi Banna  9 , Cristian Lolli  2 , Giuseppe Schepisi  2 , Giorgia Ravaglia  4 , Isabella Bondi  4 , Paola Ulivi #  10 , Ugo De Giorgi #  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

Circulating tumor cell gene expression and plasma AR gene copy number as biomarkers for castration-resistant prostate cancer patients treated with cabazitaxel

Giorgia Gurioli et al. BMC Med. .

Abstract

Background: Cabazitaxel improves overall survival (OS) in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients progressing after docetaxel. In this prospective study, we evaluated the prognostic role of CTC gene expression on cabazitaxel-treated patients and its association with plasma androgen receptor (AR) copy number (CN).

Methods: Patients receiving cabazitaxel 20 or 25 mg/sqm for mCRPC were enrolled. Digital PCR was performed to assess plasma AR CN status. CTC enrichment was assessed using the AdnaTest EMT-2/StemCell kit. CTC expression analyses were performed for 17 genes. Data are expressed as hazard ratio (HR) or odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI.

Results: Seventy-four patients were fully evaluable. CTC expression of AR-V7 (HR=2.52, 1.24-5.12, p=0.011), AKR1C3 (HR=2.01, 1.06-3.81, p=0.031), AR (HR=2.70, 1.46-5.01, p=0.002), EPCAM (HR=3.75, 2.10-6.71, p< 0.0001), PSMA (HR=2.09, 1.19-3.66, p=0.01), MDK (HR=3.35, 1.83-6.13, p< 0.0001), and HPRT1 (HR=2.46, 1.44-4.18, p=0.0009) was significantly associated with OS. ALDH1 (OR=5.50, 0.97-31.22, p=0.05), AR (OR=8.71, 2.32-32.25, p=0.001), EPCAM (OR=7.26, 1.47-35.73, p=0.015), PSMA (OR=3.86, 1.10-13.50, p=0.035), MDK (OR=6.84, 1.87-24.98, p=0.004), and HPRT1 (OR=7.41, 1.82-30.19, p=0.005) expression was associated with early PD. AR CN status was significantly correlated with AR-V7 (p=0.05), EPCAM (p=0.02), and MDK (p=0.002) expression. In multivariable model, EPCAM and HPRT1 CTC expression, plasma AR CN gain, ECOG PS=2, and liver metastases and PSA were independently associated with poorer OS. In patients treated with cabazitaxel 20 mg/sqm, median OS was shorter in AR-V7 positive than negative patients (6.6 versus 14 months, HR=3.46, 1.47-8.17], p=0.004).

Conclusions: Baseline CTC biomarkers may be prognosticators for cabazitaxel-treated mCRPC patients. Cabazitaxel at lower (20 mg/sqm) dose was associated with poorer outcomes in AR-V7 positive patients compared to AR-V7 negative patients in a post hoc subgroup analysis.

Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03381326 . Retrospectively registered on 18 December 2017.

Keywords: AR copy number; AR-V7; CTC; Cabazitaxel; mCRPC.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of included and excluded patients
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Association between AR-V7 expression and number of biomarkers. Histogram plot showing positive trend between the expression of AR-V7 (orange) and the co-expression of a growing number of other biomarkers (from 0 to 10, show in the x-axis)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Correlation of CTC biomarkers and early PD. Forest plot showing the correlation between ALDH1, AR, EPCAM, PSMA, MDK, and HPRT1 CTC expression and early PD
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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