Department of Internal Medicine II, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Oncology, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy.
Oncologist. 2020 Feb;25(2):112-118. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2019-0356. Epub 2019 Oct 18.
Combined MEK-BRAF inhibition is a well-established treatment strategy in BRAF-mutated cancer, most prominently in malignant melanoma with durable responses being achieved through this targeted therapy. However, a subset of patients face primary unresponsiveness despite presence of the activating mutation at position V600E, and others acquire resistance under treatment. Underlying resistance mechanisms are largely unknown, and diagnostic tests to predict tumor response to BRAF-MEK inhibitor treatment are unavailable. Multiple myeloma represents the second most common hematologic malignancy, and point mutations in BRAF are detectable in about 10% of patients. Targeted inhibition has been successfully applied, with mixed responses observed in a substantial subset of patients mirroring the widespread spatial heterogeneity in this genomically complex disease. Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is an extremely rare, extramedullary form of multiple myeloma that can be diagnosed in less than 1% of patients. It is considered an ultimate high-risk feature, associated with unfavorable cytogenetics, and, even with intense treatment applied, survival is short, reaching less than 12 months in most cases. Here we not only describe the first patient with an extramedullary CNS relapse responding to targeted dabrafenib and trametinib treatment, we furthermore provide evidence that a point mutation within the capicua transcriptional repressor (CIC) gene mediated the acquired resistance in this patient. KEY POINTS: BRAF mutations constitute an attractive druggable target in multiple myeloma. This is the first genomic dissection of the central nervous system involvement in a multiple myeloma patient harboring a druggable BRAF mutation. Deep genomic characterization of the extramedullary lesion prompted a personalized therapeutic approach. Acquisition of CIC mutation confers a mechanism of BRAF-MEK inhibitor drug resistance in multiple myeloma. The in silico interrogation of the CoMMpass clinical study revealed 10 patients with somatic mutations of CIC and its downregulation at gene expression level in multiple myeloma. CIC gene silencing decreases the sensitivity of multiple myeloma cells to BRAF-MEK inhibition in vitro. The correlation between CIC downregulation and ETV4/5 nuclear factor expression in multiple myeloma BRAF-mutant cells is shown for the first time. CIC mutation, its downregulation, and the related downstream effect on MMP24 support disseminative potential providing new clues in the extramedullary biology definition.
MEK-BRAF 联合抑制是 BRAF 突变癌症的一种成熟的治疗策略,在恶性黑色素瘤中最为明显,通过这种靶向治疗可获得持久的反应。然而,尽管存在 V600E 位置的激活突变,仍有一部分患者对治疗无反应,还有一部分患者在治疗过程中产生耐药性。潜在的耐药机制在很大程度上尚不清楚,也没有用于预测肿瘤对 BRAF-MEK 抑制剂治疗反应的诊断测试。多发性骨髓瘤是第二常见的血液系统恶性肿瘤,BRAF 中的点突变可在约 10%的患者中检测到。靶向抑制已成功应用,在相当一部分患者中观察到混合反应,反映了这种基因组复杂疾病的广泛空间异质性。中枢神经系统(CNS)受累是一种极其罕见的多发性骨髓瘤髓外形式,在不到 1%的患者中可诊断出。它被认为是一个终极高危特征,与不良细胞遗传学有关,即使应用了强烈的治疗,生存时间也很短,在大多数情况下不到 12 个月。在这里,我们不仅描述了首例对靶向达布拉非尼和曲美替尼治疗有反应的髓外 CNS 复发患者,而且还提供了证据表明,该患者的获得性耐药是由 CIC 基因内的 capicua 转录抑制因子(CIC)基因突变介导的。要点:BRAF 突变构成多发性骨髓瘤中一个有吸引力的可用药靶。这是对携带可用药 BRAF 突变的多发性骨髓瘤患者中枢神经系统受累进行的首次基因组剖析。对髓外病变的深度基因组特征分析促使采取了个性化的治疗方法。CIC 突变的获得赋予了多发性骨髓瘤 BRAF-MEK 抑制剂耐药的机制。对 CoMMpass 临床研究的计算分析揭示了 10 名多发性骨髓瘤患者存在 CIC 基因突变及其基因表达水平下调。CIC 基因沉默降低了多发性骨髓瘤细胞对 BRAF-MEK 抑制的敏感性。首次显示了多发性骨髓瘤 BRAF 突变细胞中 CIC 下调与 ETV4/5 核因子表达之间的相关性。CIC 突变、下调及其对 MMP24 的相关下游影响支持播散潜力,为髓外生物学定义提供了新线索。