Characterization of a cohort of metastatic lung cancer patients harboring KRAS mutations treated with immunotherapy: differences according to KRAS G12C vs. non-G12C

• Published in: Frontiers in oncology 2023-10, Vol.13, p.1239000-1239000
• Main Authors: Notario, Lucía, Cucurull, Marc, Cerdà, Gabriela, Sanz, Carolina, Carcereny, Enric, Muñoz-Mármol, Ana, Hernández, Ainhoa, Domènech, Marta, Morán, Teresa, Sánchez-Céspedes, Montse, Costa, Marta, Mate, Jose-Luis, Esteve, Anna, Saigí, Maria
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: immunotherapy; KRAS; lung adenocarcinoma; non-small cell lung cancer; Oncology; PD-L1
• ISSN: 2234-943X; 2234-943X
• DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1239000

Approximately 20% of lung adenocarcinomas harbor activating mutations at KRAS , an oncogene with the ability to alter the tumor immune microenvironment. In this retrospective study, we examined 103 patients with KRAS -mutant lung adenocarcinoma who were treated with immunotherapy-based regimens and we evaluated the clinical outcomes according to PD-L1 expression and the type of KRAS mutation. Among all patients included, 47% carried KRAS G12C mutation whereas 53% harbored KRAS non-G12C mutations. PD-L1 status was available for 77% of cases, with higher expression among KRAS G12C tumors (p = 0.01). Better overall survival and progression-free survival were observed in high PD-L1 expression tumors, regardless of KRAS mutation type. The heterogeneous nature of KRAS-mutant tumors and the presence of other co-mutations may contribute to different outcomes to immunotherapy-based strategies.