Clinical implications of AR alterations in advanced prostate cancer: a multi-institutional collaboration.

Background: AR gene alterations can develop in response to pressure of testosterone suppression and androgen receptor targeting agents (ARTA). Despite this, the relevance of these gene alterations in the context of ARTA treatment and clinical outcomes remains unclear.

Methods: Patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who had undergone genomic testing and received ARTA treatment were identified in the Prostate Cancer Precision Medicine Multi-Institutional Collaborative Effort (PROMISE) database. Patients were stratified according to the timing of genomic testing relative to the first ARTA treatment (pre-/post-ARTA). Clinical outcomes such as time to progression, PSA response, and overall survival were compared based on alteration types.

Results: In total, 540 CRPC patients who received ARTA and had tissue-based (n = 321) and/or blood-based (n = 244) genomic sequencing were identified. Median age was 62 years (range 39-90) at the time of the diagnosis. Majority were White (72.2%) and had metastatic disease (92.6%) at the time of the first ARTA treatment. Pre-ARTA genomic testing was available in 24.8% of the patients, and AR mutations and amplifications were observed in 8.2% and 13.1% of the patients, respectively. Further, time to progression was longer in patients with AR amplifications (25.7 months) compared to those without an AR alteration (9.6 months; p = 0.03). In the post-ARTA group (n = 406), AR mutations and AR amplifications were observed in 18.5% and 35.7% of the patients, respectively. The most common mutation in post-ARTA group was L702H (9.9%).

Conclusion: In this real-world clinicogenomics database-driven study we explored the development of AR alterations and their association with ARTA treatment outcomes. Our study showed that AR amplifications are associated with longer time to progression on first ARTA treatment. Further prospective studies are needed to optimize therapeutic strategies for patients with AR alterations.