A Gene-Expression Predictor for Efficacy of Induction Chemotherapy in Locoregionally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Background: Induction chemotherapy (IC) followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy is the mainstay treatment for patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. However, some patients obtain little benefit and experience unnecessary toxicities from IC. We intended to develop a gene-expression signature that can identify beneficiaries of IC. Methods: We screened chemosensitivity-related genes by comparing gene-expression profiles of patients with short-term tumor response or nonresponse to IC (n = 95) using microarray analysis. Chemosensitivity-related genes were quantified by digital expression profiling in a training cohort (n = 342) to obtain a gene signature. We then validated this gene signature in the clinical trial cohort (n = 187) and an external independent cohort (n = 240). Tests of statistical significance are 2-sided. Results: We identified 43 chemosensitivity-related genes associated with the short-term tumor response to IC. In the training cohort, a 6-gene signature was developed that was highly accurate at predicting the short-term tumor response to IC (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.87, sensitivity= 87.5%, specificity = 75.6%). We further found that IC conferred failure-free survival benefits only in patients in the benefit group (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.34 to 0.87; P = .01) and not on those in the no-benefit group (HR = 1.25, 95% CI = 0.62 to 2.51; P = .53). In the clinical trial cohort, the 6-gene signature was also highly accurate at predicting the tumor response (AUC = 0.82, sensitivity= 87.5%, specificity = 71.8%) and indicated failure-free survival benefits. In the external independent cohort, similar results were observed. Conclusions: The 6-gene signature can help select beneficiaries of IC and lay a foundation for a more individualized therapeutic strategy for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.

Automated summary

A 6-gene signature has been developed to predict the short-term tumor response to induction chemotherapy (IC) accurately. IC only confers survival benefits on patients in the benefit group identified by the gene signature, while showing no benefits on those in the no-benefit group. The gene signature has been validated in both clinical trial and external independent cohorts, indicating its potential for selecting beneficiaries of IC in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.