2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) - Posters-P2.11A.04 Exhaled Breath Biomarkers of Response to Immunotherapy in Advanced Non-Small Lung Cancer

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This study explores the potential of using exhaled breath condensate (EBC), a novel "liquid biopsy" method, to detect molecular responses (MR) in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA), to predict the clinical benefit of treatments in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) with or without chemotherapy. <br /><br />The study involved 47 patients, mostly male (68%) and with a median age of 67. The majority had adenocarcinoma, and treatments included anti-PD-1 and chemotherapy or anti-PD-1 monotherapy. Evaluable pre- and post-treatment cfDNA in EBC was achieved in 91% of cases. Clinical benefits at three months were noted in 67% of these patients.<br /><br />Results showed that 81% of patients who exhibited a molecular response in their EBC experienced a clinical benefit from their treatment. Meanwhile, 59% of those without a molecular response still saw clinical benefits, typically correlated with stable pulmonary disease. The data suggested a trend towards statistical significance when comparing clinical outcomes in patients with or without a molecular response (p=0.07).<br /><br />Additionally, in a subgroup with KRAS mutations, all patients who achieved a clinical benefit also showed a molecular response in their ctDNA. This pilot study hints at the potential for EBC and cfDNA analysis to predict treatment response, though it remains inconclusive pending further investigation with a larger cohort of participants.<br /><br />The study emphasizes the promise of using molecular biomarkers from EBC to monitor treatment efficacy in NSCLC and sets a foundation for extended research to validate these findings.<br /><br />Funding for the study was provided by various Irish cancer research bodies, and the work was conducted by teams across several Irish health sciences and cancer research institutions.

Asset Subtitle

David O Reilly

Meta Tag

Speaker David O Reilly

Topic Metastatic NSCLC – Immunotherapy

Keywords

exhaled breath condensate

liquid biopsy

cell-free DNA

circulating tumour DNA

non-small cell lung cancer

immune checkpoint inhibitors

molecular response

clinical benefit

KRAS mutations

treatment efficacy