Translation and evaluation of a pre-clinical 5-protein response prediction signature in a breast cancer phase Ib clinical trial.

Human protein biomarker discovery relies heavily on pre-clinical models, in particular established cell lines and patient-derived xenografts, but confirmation studies in primary tissue are essential to demonstrate clinical relevance. We describe in this study the process that was followed to clinically translate a 5-protein response signature predictive for the activity of an anti-HER3 monoclonal antibody (lumretuzumab) originally measured in fresh frozen xenograft tissue. We detail the development, qualification, and validation of the multiplexed targeted mass spectrometry assay used to assess the signature performance in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human clinical samples collected in a phase Ib trial designed to evaluate lumretuzumab in patients with metastatic breast cancer. We believe that the strategy delineated here provides a path forward to avoid the time- and cost-consuming step of having to develop immunological reagents against unproven targets. We expect that mass spectrometry-based platforms may become part of a rational process to rapidly test and qualify large number of candidate biomarkers to identify the few that stand a chance for further development and validation.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

AD, SW, MF, TF, BB; GD, and MC are paid employees of Roche Pharma Research and EarlyDevelopment; AD, MC declare to own Roche shares; IJ is a paid employee of A4P Consulting Ltd and acts as a consultant for Roche Pharma Research and Early Development. AT, ND, SE, MK, and CS are paid employees of Evotec (München) GmbH; AB, W-LL, YT, and TH are paid employees of OncoplexDx, a fully owned subsidiary of NantOmics, and hold equities in NantOmics. In addition, TH declares to be a shareholder in NantHealth. Our commercial affiliation does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.