Nodulomics: Histopathologic and genomic heterogeneity among multiple malignant pulmonary nodules sampled by robotic-assisted bronchoscopy.

Abstract

8049 Background: Multiple pulmonary nodules (MPN) pose significant challenges for accurate staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). As next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have become more widely available on smaller amounts of tissue, the prevalence and clinical implications of heterogeneity between MPNs are poorly understood. This study retrospectively evaluates the histopathological and NGS findings after MPN biopsy in a single robotic-assisted bronchoscopy (RaB) procedure. Methods: 191 patients were retrospectively enrolled at 6 geographically diverse centers in the US. All patients had 2+ pulmonary nodules biopsied and staging EBUS in the same procedure. An expert molecular pathologist reviewed NGS data between nodule pairs to determine if they were discordant, concordant, or indeterminate. Results: Of 191 patients, 85 patients had 2 malignant nodules with 15 of those demonstrating histopathologic heterogeneity (e.g., one adenocarcinoma, one squamous cell carcinoma). 26 patients with 2 malignant nodules of similar histopathology demonstrated molecular heterogeneity between nodules. These cases were reviewed by an expert molecular pathologist who determined the following breakdown: -15 discordant pairs (57.7%) -3 concordant pairs (11.5) -8 indeterminate pairs (30.8%) Breakdown by nodule density: -Discordant: 7 same density, 8 different density -Concordant: 3 same density -Indeterminate: 5 same density, 3 different density Breakdown by nodule laterality: -Discordant: 7 ipsilateral, 8 contralateral -Concordant: 2 ipsilateral, 1 contralateral -Indeterminate: 4 ipsilateral, 4 contralateral Staging EBUS was performed in all 26 cases with malignancy identified in 2 cases. NGS sufficiency for NSCLC from three sites with standardized NGS reporting was as follows: 1 st nodule biopsied: 42/54 (77.8%), 2 nd nodule biopsied: 37/51 (72.5%), 3 rd nodule biopsied: 2/4 (50%). In total, 90/109 (82.6%) NSCLC samples had adequate tissue for NGS. In 85 cases with 2 malignant nodules, 35 (41.2%) had all nodules Stage IIB or lower. Notably, 25 (29.4%) of the cases did not have NGS available on one or more of the nodules, thus precluding staging. Conclusions: This study highlights the frequency and clinical relevance of histopathologic and molecular heterogeneity among synchronous MPNs. Importantly, heterogeneity was not limited to contralateral or anatomically distant lesions, challenging the assumption that spatial proximity implies clonal relatedness. Further, this study shows that relying solely on density or radiographic features of a nodule is an incomplete discriminator between separate primary lung cancers and intrapulmonary metastasis. Our findings support the need for an integrated diagnostic paradigm in which sampling of multiple lesions is used to inform clonality, refine staging, and guide precision therapy.