A Secondary Mutation in BRAF Confers Resistance to RAF Inhibition in a BRAFV600E-Mutant Brain Tumor
Jiawan Wang, Zhan Yao, Philip Jonsson, Amy N Allen, Alice Can Ran Qin, Sharmeen Uddin, Ira J Dunkel, Mary Petriccione, Katia Manova, Sofia Haque, Marc K Rosenblum, David J Pisapia, Neal Rosen, Barry S Taylor, Christine A Pratilas, Jiawan Wang, Zhan Yao, Philip Jonsson, Amy N Allen, Alice Can Ran Qin, Sharmeen Uddin, Ira J Dunkel, Mary Petriccione, Katia Manova, Sofia Haque, Marc K Rosenblum, David J Pisapia, Neal Rosen, Barry S Taylor, Christine A Pratilas
Abstract
BRAFV600E hyperactivates ERK and signals as a RAF inhibitor-sensitive monomer. Although RAF inhibitors can produce impressive clinical responses in patients with mutant BRAF tumors, the mechanisms of resistance to these drugs are incompletely characterized. Here, we report a complete response followed by clinical progression in a patient with a BRAFV600E-mutant brain tumor treated with dabrafenib. Whole-exome sequencing revealed a secondary BRAFL514V mutation at progression that was not present in the pretreatment tumor. Expressing BRAFV600E/L514V induces ERK signaling, promotes RAF dimer formation, and is sufficient to confer resistance to dabrafenib. Newer RAF dimer inhibitors and an ERK inhibitor are effective against BRAFL514V-mediated resistance. Collectively, our results validate a novel biochemical mechanism of RAF inhibitor resistance mediated by a secondary mutation, emphasizing that, like driver mutations in cancer, the spectrum of mutations that drive resistance to targeted therapy are heterogeneous and perhaps emerge with a lineage-specific prevalence.Significance: In contrast to receptor tyrosine kinases, in which secondary mutations are often responsible for acquired resistance, second-site mutations in BRAF have not been validated in clinically acquired resistance to RAF inhibitors. We demonstrate a secondary mutation in BRAF (V600E/L514V) following progression on dabrafenib and confirm functionally that this mutation is responsible for resistance. Cancer Discov; 8(9); 1130-41. ©2018 AACR.See related commentary by Romano and Kwong, p. 1064This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1047.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01677741.
Conflict of interest statement
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
Neal Rosen is on the scientific advisory board of and has ownership interests in BeiGene and Kura. Neal Rosen is also on the scientific advisory board of Chugai and Astra-Zeneca. Ira J. Dunkel is a consultant to Apexigen, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Eisai, Ipsen and Pfizer.
©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.
Figures
Source: PubMed