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PurposeThe DNA damage immune response (DDIR) assay was developed in breast cancer based on biology associated with deficiencies in homologous recombination and Fanconi anemia pathways. A positive DDIR call identifies patients likely to respond to platinum-based chemotherapies in breast and esophageal cancers. In colorectal cancer, there is currently no biomarker to predict response to oxaliplatin. We tested the ability of the DDIR assay to predict response to oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy in colorectal cancer and characterized the biology in DDIR-positive colorectal cancer.Experimental designSamples and clinical data were assessed according to DDIR status from patients who received either 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or 5FUFA (bolus and infusion 5-FU with folinic acid) plus oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) within the FOCUS trial (n = 361, stage IV), or neoadjuvant FOLFOX in the FOxTROT trial (n = 97, stage II/III). Whole transcriptome, mutation, and IHC data of these samples were used to interrogate the biology of DDIR in colorectal cancer.ResultsContrary to our hypothesis, DDIR-negative patients displayed a trend toward improved outcome for oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy compared with DDIR-positive patients. DDIR positivity was associated with microsatellite instability (MSI) and colorectal molecular subtype 1. Refinement of the DDIR signature, based on overlapping IFN-related chemokine signaling associated with DDIR positivity across colorectal cancer and breast cancer cohorts, further confirmed that the DDIR assay did not have predictive value for oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy in colorectal cancer.ConclusionsDDIR positivity does not predict improved response following oxaliplatin treatment in colorectal cancer. However, data presented here suggest the potential of the DDIR assay in identifying immune-rich tumors that may benefit from immune checkpoint blockade, beyond current use of MSI status.

Original publication

DOI

10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-20-3237

Type

Journal article

Journal

Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research

Publication Date

01/2021

Volume

27

Pages

288 - 300

Addresses

Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.

Keywords

S:CORT consortium, Humans, Colorectal Neoplasms, DNA Damage, Organoplatinum Compounds, Fluorouracil, Leucovorin, Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols, Chemotherapy, Adjuvant, Neoadjuvant Therapy, Biological Assay, Gene Expression Profiling, DNA Mutational Analysis, Mutation, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Middle Aged, Female, Male, Microsatellite Instability, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Biomarkers, Tumor, Progression-Free Survival