Evaluation of CSF1R as a potential prognostic biomarker in colorectal cancer (Alliance).

Abstract

285 Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have shown limited efficacy in colorectal cancer (CRC) outside of mismatch repair (MMR) deficient/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) tumors. Most CRC cases are MMR proficient /microsatellite stable and demonstrate resistance to ICIs, attributed to the tumor microenvironment. Colony Stimulating Factor 1 Receptor (CSF1R), a regulator of tumor-associated macrophages, has emerged as a potential target due to its association with poor prognosis in CRC. Methods: Data from 433 metastatic CRC (mCRC) patients in the CALGB/SWOG 80405 trial were analyzed. CSF1R RNA was extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor samples and sequenced. Patients were divided into tertiles of CSF1R expression (high, medium, low). Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared using Kaplan-Meier curves, log-rank tests, and Cox proportional hazards models. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on liver metastases, treatment type (Bevacizumab, Cetuximab, FOLFOX, FOLFIRI), and MSI status. Results: Low CSF1R expression (CSF1R-L) was associated with significantly better survival outcomes. Median PFS was 12.9 months for CSF1R-L, compared to 11.2 and 9.2 months for CSF1R-M and CSF1R-H (p = 0.003). Median OS was 35.8 months for CSF1R-L versus 32.5 and 24.4 months for CSF1R-M and CSF1R-H (p = 0.00086). Stratification by liver metastases showed that CSF1R-L remained a strong prognostic factor only in patients with liver metastases. There were no significant survival differences based on CSF1R expression in bevacizumab-treated patients. However, in cetuximab-treated patients, CSF1R-L tumors had significantly longer PFS (12.9 vs 8.8 months, p = 0.037) and OS (35.8 vs 21.4 months, p = 0.002) than CSF1R-H tumors. Similarly, in FOLFOX-treated patients, CSF1R-L tumors showed longer PFS and OS (p = 0.018 and p = 0.013, respectively), and in FOLFIRI-treated patients, OS was significantly longer for CSF1R-L tumors (42.2 vs 24.7 months, p = 0.022) than CSF1R-H tumors. Conclusions: Our data suggests that CSF1R expression may serve as a prognostic biomarker in CRC, with lower expression potentially linked to improved survival, particularly in patients with liver metastases. These findings warrant further investigation of CSF1R as a possible prognostic and predictive biomarker, as well as a potential therapeutic target in CRC. Clinical trial information: NCT00265850 .