Frontiers in Oncology (Mar 2020)

Identification of Novel Biomarkers in Pancreatic Tumor Tissue to Predict Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

  • Sumit Sahni,
  • Sumit Sahni,
  • Sumit Sahni,
  • Christopher Nahm,
  • Christopher Nahm,
  • Christopher Nahm,
  • Christoph Krisp,
  • Mark P. Molloy,
  • Mark P. Molloy,
  • Mark P. Molloy,
  • Shreya Mehta,
  • Shreya Mehta,
  • Shreya Mehta,
  • Sarah Maloney,
  • Sarah Maloney,
  • Malinda Itchins,
  • Malinda Itchins,
  • Malinda Itchins,
  • Malinda Itchins,
  • Nick Pavlakis,
  • Nick Pavlakis,
  • Nick Pavlakis,
  • Nick Pavlakis,
  • Stephen Clarke,
  • Stephen Clarke,
  • Stephen Clarke,
  • Stephen Clarke,
  • David Chan,
  • David Chan,
  • David Chan,
  • David Chan,
  • Anthony J. Gill,
  • Anthony J. Gill,
  • Viive M. Howell,
  • Viive M. Howell,
  • Jaswinder Samra,
  • Jaswinder Samra,
  • Jaswinder Samra,
  • Anubhav Mittal,
  • Anubhav Mittal,
  • Anubhav Mittal

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2020.00237
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

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Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has been of recent interest as an alternative to upfront surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, a subset of patients does not respond to NAC and may have been better managed by upfront surgery. Hence, there is an unmet need for accurate biomarkers for predicting NAC response in PDAC. We aimed to identify upregulated proteins in tumor tissue from poor- and good-NAC responders.Methods: Tumor and adjacent pancreas tissue samples were obtained following surgical resection from NAC-treated PDAC patients. SWATH-MS proteomic analysis was performed to identify and quantify proteins in tissue samples. Statistical analysis was performed to identify biomarkers for NAC response. Pathway analysis was performed to characterize affected canonical pathways in good- and poor-NAC responders.Results: A total of 3,156 proteins were identified, with 19 being were significantly upregulated in poor-responders compared to good-responders (log2 ratio > 2, p < 0.05). Those with the greatest ability to predict poor-NAC response were GRP78, CADM1, PGES2, and RUXF. Notably, canonical pathways that were significantly upregulated in good-responders included acute phase signaling and macrophage activation, indicating a heightened immune response in these patients.Conclusion: A novel biomarker signature for poor-NAC response in PDAC was identified.

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