Abstract 1826: Oncogenic KRAS mediates resistance to MET targeted therapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with MET mutations that induce exon14 skipping

Mutations in MET that induce skipping of exon 14 and lead to reduced ubiquitin ligase-mediated turnover of this receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) are detected in 3-4% of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), approaching the prevalence of ALK-rearranged lung cancers. Preclinical and clinical studies have revealed that MET exon14 alterations are actionable oncogenic drivers that are amenable to therapy with MET kinase inhibitors such as crizotinib. However, similar to most kinase-driven cancers, despite initial benefit, acquired resistance to therapy is inevitable. Next-generation sequencing (MSK-IMPACT 468 gene panel) was performed on samples from 81 NSCLC patients with MET exon14 alterations, including 7 with paired pre- and post-treatment tumor samples. A concurrent KRAS G12 mutation was identified in 5 patients. In 4 of these patients, the KRAS mutation was present prior to receiving crizotinib. The KRAS mutation was acquired post-crizotinib in the remaining patient. These findings implicate KRAS activation as a potential mechanism of acquired resistance. Using isogenic and patient-derived in vitro and in vivo models harboring MET exon14 skipping alteration, we confirmed that the KRAS mutation results in constitutive activation of RAS/ERK signaling and cells expressing both MET exon14 skipping and KRAS mutations are refractory to MET inhibition. Dual inhibition of MET and MEK with crizotinib and trametinib, respectively, has an additive effect in cell line and xenograft models. Whereas concurrent KRAS mutation is an extremely rare event in EGFR- and ALK-driven NSCLC, our findings confirm KRAS mutation as a recurrent mechanism of primary or secondary resistance to MET-directed therapies in lung cancers harboring MET exon14 alterations. We provide a new potential therapeutic strategy for NSCLC patients with both MET exon14 alterations and KRAS mutations. Citation Format: Ken Suzawa, Michael D. Offin, Christopher Kurzatkowski, Daniel Liu, Morana Vojnic, Roger S. Smith, Marissa Mattar, Inna Khodos, Elisa de Stanchina, Joshua K. Sabari, William W. Lockwood, Alexander E. Drilon, Marc Ladanyi, Romel Somwar. Oncogenic KRAS mediates resistance to MET targeted therapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with MET mutations that induce exon14 skipping [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1826.