Performance of a blood-based RNA signature for gemcitabine-based treatment in metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Background Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal cancer, and chemotherapy is a key treatment for advanced PDAC. Gemcitabine chemotherapy is still an important component of treatment; however, there is no routine biomarker to predict its efficacy. Predictive tests may help clinicians to decide on the best first-line chemotherapy. Methods This study is a confirmatory study of a blood-based RNA signature, called the GemciTest. This test measures the expression levels of nine genes using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) processes. Clinical validation was carried out, through a discovery and a validation phases, on 336 patients (mean 68.7 years; range, 37–88 years) for whom blood was collected from two prospective cohorts and two tumor biobanks. These cohorts included previously untreated advanced PDAC patients who received either a gemcitabine- or fluoropyrimidine-based regimen. Results Gemcitabine-based treated patients with a positive GemciTest (22.9%) had a significantly longer progression-free survival (PFS) {5.3 vs. 2.8 months; hazard ratio (HR) =0.53 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.31–0.92]; P=0.023} and overall survival (OS) [10.4 vs. 4.8 months; HR =0.49 (95% CI: 0.29–0.85); P=0.0091]. On the contrary, fluoropyrimidine-based treated patients showed no significant difference in PFS and OS using this blood signature. Conclusions The GemciTest demonstrated that a blood-based RNA signature has the potential to aid in personalized therapy for PDAC, leading to better survival rates for patients receiving a gemcitabine-based first-line treatment.