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A preliminary analysis of interleukin-1 ligands as potential predictive biomarkers of response to cetuximab
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

A preliminary analysis of interleukin-1 ligands as potential predictive biomarkers of response to cetuximab

Madelyn Espinosa-Cotton, Elana J Fertig, Laura P Stabile, Autumn Gaither-Davis, Julie E Bauman, Sandra Schmitz, Katherine N Gibson-Corley, Yinwen Cheng, Isaac J Jensen, Vladimir P Badovinac, …
Biomarker research, Vol.7(1), pp.14-14
07/16/2019
DOI: 10.1186/s40364-019-0164-0
PMCID: PMC6636109
PMID: 31346466
url
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40364-019-0164-0View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Background: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal IgG1 antibody cetuximab is approved for first-line treatment of recurrent and metastatic (R/M) HNSCC as a part of the standard of care EXTREME regimen (platinum/5-fluorouracil/cetuximab). This regimen has relatively high response and disease control rates but is generally not curative and many patients will experience recurrent disease and/or metastasis. Therefore, there is a great need to identify predictive biomarkers for recurrence and disease progression in cetuximab-treated HNSCC patients to facilitate patient management and allow for treatment modification. The goal of this work is to assess the potential of activating interleukin-1 (IL-1) ligands (IL-1 alpha [IL-1α], IL-1 beta [IL-1β]) as predictive biomarkers of survival outcomes in HNSCC patients treated with cetuximab-based chemotherapy. Methods: Baseline gene, serum and tumor expression of interleukin-1 (IL-1) ligands were analyzed from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database or clinical trials of cetuximab-based therapies and interrogated for associations with clinical outcome data. Results: High tumor gene expression of IL-1β was associated with a more favorable overall survival in cetuximab-treated HNSCC patients but not in non-cetuximab-treated patients. In HNSCC patients treated with cetuximab-based chemotherapy, higher gene and circulating levels of IL-1α and IL-1β were correlated with a more favorable progression free survival compared to patients with low or undetectable levels of IL-1 ligands. Conclusions: These findings suggest that IL-1 ligands may function as predictive biomarkers for tumor response to cetuximab-based chemotherapy in HNSCC patients and warrants further investigation and validation in larger clinical studies. Keywords: Biomarker; Cetuximab; Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC); Interleukin-1 (IL-1).
Biomarker Cetuximab Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) Interleukin-1 (IL-1) Research

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