Data from a real-world study: Association of CDCP1 expression level with survival outcomes in mCRC patients treated with bevacizumab or cetuximab plus chemotherapy.

Abstract

3593 Background: CUB domain-containing protein 1 (CDCP1) is a transmembrane protein shown to be over-expressed in colorectal cancer (CRC), with an important role in tumor initiation, growth and metastasis. Through interactions with EGFR, CDCP1 promotes nuclear translocation of the key regulators of Wnt signaling, β-catenin and E-cadherin. High CDCP1 expression has been associated with poor survival outcomes in multiple solid tumors but data in CRC remains limited. We investigated associations between CDCP1 level and survival outcomes in patients with metastatic CRC (mCRC) in the phase III clinical trial CALGB/SWOG 80405 (Alliance). Methods: Data from 433 mCRC patients in the CALGB/SWOG 80405 (Alliance) trial were analyzed. Patients received bevacizumab (n = 226) or cetuximab (n = 207) plus chemotherapy as 1st-line treatment. Tumor RNA was extracted from FFPE samples and processed through the HiSeq 2500 (Illumina) platform. Overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) curves were evaluated in all treatment subgroups and stratified according to high or low CDCP1 expression. Likelihood ratio tests, hazard ratios (HRs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards multivariate models, adjusting for age, sex, ECOG performance status, tumor location, number of metastatic sites, KRAS status, consensus molecular subtypes, and treatment arm. Results: Overall, low CDCP1 expression was associated with better OS compared to high expression (HR = 1.38; 95% CI 1.07-1.77; 35.8 vs 25.0 months, p = 0.045). Subgroup analysis re-demonstrated this pattern in males (HR = 1.64; 95% CI 1.64-2.28; 35.9 vs 23.6 months, p = 0.01), patients with MSS tumors (HR = 1.56; 95% CI 1.17-2.08; 36.7 vs 25.1 months, p = 0.0094), and patients treated with cetuximab+FOLFOX (HR = 1.79; 95% CI 1.16-2.77; 40.8 vs 24.0 months, p = 0.03). The effect of CDCP1 expression on PFS was less pronounced. Relative to high expression, low expression was associated with better PFS in males (HR = 1.49; 95% CI 1.10-2.03; 13.1 vs 9.8 months, p = 0.027) and left-sided tumors (HR = 1.50; 95% CI 1.10-2.04; 14.4 vs 10.1 months, p = 0.034). Conclusions: Our findings represent real-world data of the predictive role of CDCP1 in patients with mCRC undergoing anti-EGFR or anti-VEGF treatment. Consistent with studies of other cancers, we show that low CDCP1 expression is predictive of better survival outcomes, with subgroup analysis revealing associations in males, MSS tumors, and left-sided tumors. Among treatment groups, low CDCP1 expression is predictive of better OS in cetuximab+FOLFOX-treated patients, a key finding given CDCP1’s close mechanistic ties to EGFR. Further studies should explore whether these associations are seen in other treatment modalities and whether CDCP1 blockade could represent a viable strategy in patients with high expression.