Association Between Tumour Amphiregulin, Epiregulin and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Expression and Response to Anti-EGFR Agents in Colorectal Cancer

Background:

The anti-EGFR agents, cetuximab and panitumumab are approved by NICE for the first-line treatment of patients with RAS wild-type (RAS-wt) advanced colorectal cancer (aCRC). However RAS-wt status is not sufficient to guarantee anti-EGFR benefit. Differential tumour expression of the EGFR ligands, amphiregulin (AREG) and epiregulin (EREG), as well as the EGFR receptor itself, are putative predictive biomarkers for response to anti-EGFR agents and may therefore help better identify patients who will benefit from treatment.

Objectives:

This study aims to assess the utility of tumour AREG, EREG and/or EGFR expression, alone or in combination, as predictive biomarkers for response to anti-EGFR agents in aCRC. The investigators will develop a scoring system and categorical cut off points to differentiate AREG/EREG/EGFR positive and negative cases and correlate these with response to therapy as assessed by:

Primary endpoint: Progression Free Survival (PFS) Secondary endpoints: Overall Survival (OS), Objective Response Rate (ORR), Disease Control Rate (DCR) Finally, the investigators will utilise digital pathology and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to automate as far as possible the process of evaluating AREG/EREG/EGFR status.