APOBEC Mutational Signatures in Hormone Receptor–Positive Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2–Negative Breast Cancers Are Associated With Poor Outcomes on CDK4/6 Inhibitors and Endocrine Therapy

PURPOSE APOBEC mutagenesis underlies somatic evolution and accounts for tumor heterogeneity in several cancers, including breast cancer (BC). In this study, we evaluated the characteristics of a real-world cohort for time-to-treatment discontinuation (TTD) and overall survival on CDK4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) plus endocrine therapy (ET) and immune checkpoint inhibitors. METHODS Comprehensive genomic profiling results from 29,833 BC samples were analyzed for tumor mutational burden and APOBEC signatures. For clinical outcomes, a deidentified nationwide (United States–based) BC Clinico-Genomic Database (CGDB) was evaluated with log-rank and Cox models. Patients with hormone receptor–positive (HR+) human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–negative (HER2–) BC who received first-line ET and CDK4/6i were included. Eligible patients from Mayo Clinic and Duke University were HR+ HER2– BC with sequencing data between September 2013 and July 2020. RESULTS Of 29,833 samples sequenced, 7.9% were APOBEC+ with a high rate in invasive lobular carcinoma (16.7%) and in metastatic tumors (9.7%) relative to locally biopsied BC (4.3%; P < .001). In CGDB, 857 patients with HR+ HER2– BC received ET plus CDK4/6i in the first line. APOBEC+ patients had significantly shorter TTD on ET plus CDK4/6i than APOBEC– patients, 7.8 (95% CI, 4.3 to 14.6) versus 12.4 months (95% CI, 11.2 to 14.1; hazard ratio, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.03 to 2.39; P = .0036). Clinical benefit to immune checkpoint inhibitors was observed in HR+ HER2–, APOBEC+, tumor mutational burden–high patients, with four of nine CGDB patients (TTD 0.3-11.3 months) and four of six patients in Duke/Mayo cohorts (TTD 0.9-40.5 months) with a TTD of ≥ 3 months. CONCLUSION APOBEC+ HR+ HER2– patients had shorter TTD on first-line ET plus CDK4/6i relative to APOBEC– patients. Further research is needed to optimize the treatment of APOBEC+ HR+ HER2– BC and to investigate the efficacy of immunotherapeutic strategies in this population.