Clonal Evolution and Heterogeneity of Osimertinib Acquired Resistance Mechanisms in EGFR Mutant Lung Cancer

SUMMARY Clonal evolution of osimertinib-resistance mechanisms in EGFR mutant lung adenocarcinoma is poorly understood. Using multi-region whole-exome and RNA sequencing of prospectively collected pre- and post-osimertinib-resistant tumors, including at rapid autopsies, we identify a likely mechanism driving osimertinib resistance in all patients analyzed. The majority of patients acquire two or more resistance mechanisms either concurrently or in temporal sequence. Focal copy-number amplifications occur subclonally and are spatially and temporally separated from common resistance mutations such as EGFR C797S. MET amplification occurs in 66% (n = 6/9) of first-line osimertinib-treated patients, albeit spatially heterogeneous, often co-occurs with additional acquired focal copy-number amplifications and is associated with early progression. Noteworthy osimertinib-resistance mechanisms discovered include neuroendocrine differentiation without histologic transformation, PD-L1, KRAS amplification, and ESR1-AKAP12, MKRN1-BRAF fusions. The subclonal co-occurrence of acquired genomic alterations upon osimertinib resistance will likely require targeting multiple resistance mechanisms by combination therapies.
In Brief Roper et al. perform multi-region whole-exome and RNA sequencing of pre- and post-resistant tumors from EGFR mutant lung cancer patients treated with osimertinib. They uncover the subclonal co-occurrence of acquired genomic alterations upon osimertinib resistance suggesting combination first-line therapies may prevent or delay key resistance mechanisms.
Graphical Abstract