MET Receptor Amplification Drives Resistance to Anti-EGFR Therapies

Abstract

Mesenchymal–epithelial transition factor (MET) amplification has been suggested either as a de novo or acquired mechanism of resistance to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-EGFR) therapy. However, even if MET amplification has been widely described in the preclinical setting, only a few clinical data have confirmed the role of MET in the resistance to anti-EGFR treatment. A 60-year-old man presenting cholangiocarcinoma with EGFR amplification had a tumor response to anti-EGFR therapy. A new on-purpose tumor biopsy performed during tumor progression confirmed the known EGFR amplification as well as a new MET amplification. This clinical observation highlights the role of MET amplification as a mechanism of resistance to EGFR inhibitors.

Keywords

• anti-epidermal growth factor receptor
• cholangiocarcinoma
• gene amplification
• mesenchymal–epithelial transition factor
• resistance