Analysis of Circulating Tumor DNA and Clinical Correlates in Patients with Esophageal, Gastroesophageal Junction, and Gastric Adenocarcinoma

Purpose: Esophageal, gastroesophageal junction, and gastric adenocarcinoma (herein gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas) are associated with poor prognosis and limited systemic treatment options. To further understand the genomic landscape of gastroesophageal cancers and its clinical correlations, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from patients' plasma was evaluated using next-generation sequencing (NGS).

Experimental Design: We analyzed genomic alterations of 55 patients (mostly advanced disease; 9, surgically resectable) with gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas using clinical-grade NGS performed on plasma-derived ctDNA (54-73 gene panel). The test detects single-nucleotide variants, as well as copy number amplifications, fusions, and indels in selected genes.

Results: Seventy-six percent of patients (42/55) had ≥1 genomic alteration [including variants of unknown significance (VUS)] and 69.1% (38/55) had ≥1 characterized alteration (excluding VUSs). The median number of alterations per patient was 2 (range, 0-15). (50.9%, 28/55), (16.4%, 9/55), (14.5%, 8/55), and (14.5%, 8/55) genes were most frequently affected characterized alterations. Thirty-one patients also had tissue NGS. Concordance between tissue and ctDNA ranged from 61.3% ( alterations) to 87.1% ( alterations). alterations were significantly associated with poor overall survival (HR, 14.06; 95% confidence interval, 2.44-81.03; = 0.003 multivariate analysis). Among patients with ≥1 alteration, no 2 patients had identical molecular portfolios. All patients with ≥1 characterized alteration had theoretically targetable alterations by an FDA-approved agent (on- or off-label). Illustrative case treated with cognate agent is presented.

Conclusions: Evaluation of ctDNA by NGS among patients with gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma is feasible. Patients harbored heterogeneous patterns of genomics, with most having alterations that are potentially pharmacologically tractable.