BioCentury
ARTICLE | Distillery Techniques

Biomarkers

May 9, 2017 1:20 PM UTC

Two multigene signatures could help predict responses to Erbitux cetuximab or the generic chemotherapy 5-FU in colorectal cancer patients. In tumor samples from 49 patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models of colorectal cancer, whole-transcriptome sequencing analysis identified 14-gene and 16-gene expression signatures that correlated with sensitivities to 5-FU and Erbitux, respectively. Also in the models, the 14-gene signature correctly identified response to 5-FU with 94% sensitivity and 97% specificity. In a second cohort of 68 colorectal cancer patients and 96 PDX mouse models of colorectal cancer generated from a third patient cohort, the 16-gene signature correctly identified responses to Erbitux with 78% sensitivity and 88% specificity, whereas a conventional scoring method based on the K-Ras (KRAS), BRAF and neuroblastoma Ras viral oncogene (NRAS) mutation status identified responses to Erbitux with 74% sensitivity and specificity. Next steps could include validating the signatures in colorectal cancer patients on 5-FU or Erbitux...