The Role of c-Met as a Biomarker and Player in Innate and Acquired Resistance in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Two New Mutations Warrant Further Studies

Molecules. 2019 Dec 4;24(24):4443. doi: 10.3390/molecules24244443.

Abstract

The c-Met receptor is a therapeutically actionable target in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with one approved drug and several agents in development. Most suitable biomarkers for patient selection include c-Met amplification and exon-14 skipping. Our retrospective study focused on the frequency of different c-Met aberrations (overexpression, amplification and mutations) in 153 primary, therapy-naïve resection samples and their paired metastases, from Biobank@UZA. Furthermore, we determined the correlation of c-Met expression with clinicopathological factors, Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR)-status and TP53 mutations. Our results showed that c-Met expression levels in primary tumors were comparable to their respective metastases. Five different mutations were detected by deep sequencing: three (E168D, S203T, N375S) previously described and two never reported (I333T, G783E). I333T, a new mutation in the Sema(phorin) domain of c-Met, might influence the binding of antibodies targeting the HGF-binding domain, potentially causing innate resistance. E168D and S203T mutations showed a trend towards a correlation with high c-Met expression (p = 0.058). We found a significant correlation between c-MET expression, EGFR expression (p = 0.010) and EGFR mutations (p = 0.013), as well as a trend (p = 0.057) with regards to TP53 mutant activity. In conclusion this study demonstrated a strong correlation between EGFR mutations, TP53 and c-Met expression in therapy-naïve primary resection samples. Moreover, we found two new c-Met mutations that warrant further studies.

Keywords: EGFR; NSCLC; biomarkers; c-Met.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / genetics*
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / genetics*
  • ErbB Receptors / genetics
  • Female
  • Gene Amplification
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mutation / genetics*
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met / genetics*
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / genetics

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
  • EGFR protein, human
  • ErbB Receptors
  • MET protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met