posted on 2023-07-05, 08:22authored byAmanda J. Compadre, Lillian N. van Biljon, Mark C. Valentine, Alba Llop-Guevara, Emily Graham, Bisiayo Fashemi, Andrea Herencia-Ropero, Emilee N. Kotnik, Isaac Cooper, Shariska P. Harrington, Lindsay M. Kuroki, Carolyn K. McCourt, Andrea R. Hagemann, Premal H. Thaker, David G. Mutch, Matthew A. Powell, Lulu Sun, Nima Mosammaparast, Violeta Serra, Peinan Zhao, Elena Lomonosova, Dineo Khabele, Mary M. Mullen
RAD51 scores in BRCA mutated tumors shows correlation with survival and protein integrity
Funding
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF)
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (WUSM)
GOG Foundation (GOG Foundation, Inc.)
Cancer Center, University of Kansas (KU Cancer Center)
History
ARTICLE ABSTRACT
To determine the ability of RAD51 foci to predict platinum chemotherapy response in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) patient-derived samples.
RAD51 and γH2AX nuclear foci were evaluated by immunofluorescence in HGSOC patient-derived cell lines (n = 5), organoids (n = 11), and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor samples (discovery n = 31, validation n = 148). Samples were defined as RAD51-High if >10% of geminin-positive cells had ≥5 RAD51 foci. Associations between RAD51 scores, platinum chemotherapy response, and survival were evaluated.
RAD51 scores correlated with in vitro response to platinum chemotherapy in established and primary ovarian cancer cell lines (Pearson r = 0.96, P = 0.01). Organoids from platinum-nonresponsive tumors had significantly higher RAD51 scores than those from platinum-responsive tumors (P < 0.001). In a discovery cohort, RAD51-Low tumors were more likely to have a pathologic complete response (RR, 5.28; P < 0.001) and to be platinum-sensitive (RR, ∞; P = 0.05). The RAD51 score was predictive of chemotherapy response score [AUC, 0.90; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.78–1.0; P < 0.001). A novel automatic quantification system accurately reflected the manual assay (92%). In a validation cohort, RAD51-Low tumors were more likely to be platinum-sensitive (RR, ∞; P < 0.001) than RAD51-High tumors. Moreover, RAD51-Low status predicted platinum sensitivity with 100% positive predictive value and was associated with better progression-free (HR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.33–0.85; P < 0.001) and overall survival (HR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.25–0.75; P = 0.003) than RAD51-High status.
RAD51 foci are a robust marker of platinum chemotherapy response and survival in ovarian cancer. The utility of RAD51 foci as a predictive biomarker for HGSOC should be tested in clinical trials.