MD Anderson Cancer Center scientists discovered a new biomarker that can predict “survival outcomes for patients with advanced KRAS G12C-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), following treatment with the KRAS targeted therapy sotorasib.”
The biomarker, TTF-1, was low in patients with lung tumors who “responded poorly to sotorasib – with a median progression free survival (PFS) of 2.8 months and a median overall survival (OS) of 4.5 months.” Those with higher TTF-1 “had a median PFS of 8.1 months and a median OS of 16 months.”
Additionally, the study found that sotorasib efficacy might also be predicted by the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, the scientists “also were able to demonstrate that rapid clearance of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) – small fragments of DNA from the tumor found in the blood – following initiation of sotorasib was linked with much better outcomes.” It was noted that certain patients’ “ctDNA levels dropped as soon as eight days into treatment, suggesting that a simple blood test could help doctors quickly identify who is benefiting from the therapy.”
The study is published in Nature Medicine.
