Genome wide association study to identify predictors for severe skin toxicity in colorectal cancer patients treated with cetuximab

• Published in: PloS one 2018-12, Vol.13 (12), p.e0208080
• Main Authors: Baas, Jara, Krens, Lisanne, Bohringer, Stefan, Mol, Linda, Punt, Cornelis, Guchelaar, Henk-Jan, Gelderblom, Hans
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Analysis; Antibodies; Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological - adverse effects; Bevacizumab; Biology and Life Sciences; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - analysis; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Cetuximab; Cetuximab - adverse effects; Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic; Colorectal cancer; Colorectal carcinoma; Colorectal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Drug Eruptions - diagnosis; Drug Eruptions - etiology; Drug Eruptions - genetics; Drug Eruptions - prevention & control; Engineering and Technology; Epidermal growth factor; Epidermal growth factor receptors; Female; Folliculitis; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genome-wide association studies; Genome-Wide Association Study; Genomes; Health aspects; Humans; Immunotherapy; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Metastases; Metastasis; Middle Aged; Monoclonal antibodies; Mutation; Oncology; Oxaliplatin; Patients; Pharmacy; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Prognosis; Quality of life; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Severity of Illness Index; Single-nucleotide polymorphism; Skin; Studies; Systematic review; Targeted cancer therapy; Toxicity; Toxicology; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208080

EGFR-antibodies are associated with significant skin toxicity, including acneiform rash and folliculitis. It remains impossible to predict the occurrence of severe skin toxicity due to the lack of predictive markers. Here, we present the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) to find single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with EGFR inhibitor-induced skin toxicity using data of the multicentre randomized phase III CAIRO2 trial (clinicaltrials.gov NCT00208546). In this study, advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer patients were treated with capecitabine, oxaliplatin and bevacizumab with or without cetuximab. Germline DNA was available in 282 of the 368 patients in the cetuximab arm. Mild skin toxicity occurred in 195 patients (i.e. CTC grade 1 or 2, respectively 91 and 104 patients) and severe skin toxicity (i.e. grade 3) in 36 patients. Grade 4 skin toxicity did not occur. None of the SNPs reached the formal genome wide threshold for significance of 5x10(-8), though SNPs of at least 8 loci did show moderate association (p-value between 5x10(-7) and 5x10(-5)) with the occurrence of grade 3 (severe) skin toxicity. These SNPs did not overlap with SNPs associated with cetuximab efficacy as found in a previous GWAS in the same CAIRO2 cohort. If formally proven by replication, the SNPs associated with severe EGFR induced skin toxicity may be helpful to predict the occurrence and severity of skin toxicity in patients that will receive cetuximab and allow for adequate information on the risk of skin toxicity and prophylactic measurements.