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Chordomas are rare bone tumors with few therapeutic options. Here we show, using whole-exome and genome sequencing within a precision oncology program, that advanced chordomas (n = 11) may be characterized by genomic patterns indicative of defective homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair and alterations affecting HR-related genes, including, for example, deletions and pathogenic germline variants of BRCA2, NBN, and CHEK2. A mutational signature associated with HR deficiency was significantly enriched in 72.7% of samples and co-occurred with genomic instability. The poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib, which is preferentially toxic to HR-incompetent cells, led to prolonged clinical benefit in a patient with refractory chordoma, and whole-genome analysis at progression revealed a PARP1 p.T910A mutation predicted to disrupt the autoinhibitory PARP1 helical domain. These findings uncover a therapeutic opportunity in chordoma that warrants further exploration, and provide insight into the mechanisms underlying PARP inhibitor resistance.
Introduction: For resectable soft tissue sarcoma (STS), radical surgery, usually combined with radiotherapy, is the mainstay of treatment and the only potentially curative modality. Since surgery is often complicated by large tumour size and extensive tumour vasculature, preoperative treatment strategies with the aim of devitalising the tumour are being explored. One option is treatment with antiangiogenic drugs. The multikinase inhibitor pazopanib, which possesses pronounced antiangiogenic effects, has shown activity in metastatic and unresectable STS, but has so far not been tested in the preoperative setting.
Methods and analysis: This open-label, multicentre phase II window-of-opportunity trial assesses pazopanib as preoperative treatment of resectable STS. Participants receive a 21-day course of pazopanib 800 mg daily during wait time for surgery. Major eligibility criteria are resectable, high-risk adult STS of any location, or metachronous solitary STS metastasis for which resection is planned, and adequate organ function and performance status. The trial uses an exact single-stage design. The primary end point is metabolic response rate (MRR), that is, the proportion of patients with >50% reduction of the mean standardised uptake value (SUVmean) in post-treatment compared to pre-treatment fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography CT. The MRR below which the treatment is considered ineffective is 0.2. The MRR above which the treatment warrants further exploration is 0.4. With a type I error of 5% and a power of 80%, the sample size is 35 evaluable patients, with 12 or more responders as threshold. Main secondary end points are histopathological and MRI response, resectability, toxicity, recurrence-free and overall survival. In a translational substudy, endothelial progenitor cells and vascular epithelial growth factor receptor are analysed as potential prognostic and predictive markers.
Ethics and dissemination: Approval by the ethics committee II, University of Heidelberg, Germany (2012-019F-MA), German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (61-3910-4038155) and German Federal Institute for Radiation Protection (Z5-22463/2-2012-007).
Trial registration number: NCT01543802, EudraCT: 2011-003745-18; Pre-results.
Purpose: Molecular diagnostics including next generation gene sequencing are increasingly used to determine options for individualized therapies in brain tumor patients. We aimed to evaluate the decision-making process of molecular targeted therapies and analyze data on tolerability as well as signals for efficacy.
Methods: Via retrospective analysis, we identified primary brain tumor patients who were treated off-label with a targeted therapy at the University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University. We analyzed which types of molecular alterations were utilized to guide molecular off-label therapies and the diagnostic procedures for their assessment during the period from 2008 to 2021. Data on tolerability and outcomes were collected.
Results: 413 off-label therapies were identified with an increasing annual number for the interval after 2016. 37 interventions (9%) were targeted therapies based on molecular markers. Glioma and meningioma were the most frequent entities treated with molecular matched targeted therapies. Rare entities comprised e.g. medulloblastoma and papillary craniopharyngeoma. Molecular targeted approaches included checkpoint inhibitors, inhibitors of mTOR, FGFR, ALK, MET, ROS1, PIK3CA, CDK4/6, BRAF/MEK and PARP. Responses in the first follow-up MRI were partial response (13.5%), stable disease (29.7%) and progressive disease (46.0%). There were no new safety signals. Adverse events with fatal outcome (CTCAE grade 5) were not observed. Only, two patients discontinued treatment due to side effects. Median progression-free and overall survival were 9.1/18 months in patients with at least stable disease, and 1.8/3.6 months in those with progressive disease at the first follow-up MRI.
Conclusion: A broad range of actionable alterations was targeted with available molecular therapeutics.
However, efficacy was largely observed in entities with paradigmatic oncogenic drivers, in particular with BRAF mutations. Further research on biomarker-informed molecular matched therapies is urgently necessary.