Expression profiling of ccRCC samples treated with anti-VEGF therapies reveals distinct markers

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) patients treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapies demonstrate promising outcomes but not all patients benefit. Factors that predict response remain to be elucidated. Nephrectomy material from 37 patients with mRCC receiving bevacizumab 6 erlotinib was used for protein and gene expression assessment. Protein lysates were subjected to reverse-phase protein array profiling. RNA extracts were used to carry out gene expression microarray-based profiling. Normalized protein and gene expression data were correlated with overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) using univariate Cox hazard model and linear regression. Immunoblotting was carried out to validate the results. High protein levels of AMP-activated protein kinase and low levels of cyclin B1 (CCNB1) were associated with longer OS and PFS. Further validation revealed reduced expression and activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway components and cell cycle factors in patients with prolonged survival after therapy. Gene expression analysis revealed up-regulation of PI3K- and cell cycle-related pathways in patients with shorter PFS. The OS and PFS of bevacizumab 6 erlotinib-treated patients with renal cell carcinoma were associated with changes in expression of protein and gene expression markers related to PI3K pathway and cell cycle signaling.

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Tsavachidou-Fenner D, Tannir N, Tamboli P, Liu W, Petillo D, Teh B, Mills GB, Jonasch E