MOLECULAR PREDICTERS OF PATIENT RESPONSE TO RADIATION THERAPY

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to methods of predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient, the use of specific markers for predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient, and a computer program product for use in a method of predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient.State of the art

[0002] The overwhelming majority (~70 %) of cancer patients needs a radiation therapy at some point in the course of its treatment. There are basically three forms of radiation therapy in cancer: External beam radiation therapy (EBRT), in particular x-ray and particle therapy Brachytherapy (internal radiation therapy), in particular low-dose rate (LDR) and high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy Targeted radiation therapy

[0003] These can be combined among each other or with adjuvant therapies, such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and surgical therapy. Patients respond differently to radiation therapy, depending on cancer type, cancer stage, and form of therapy; with a response rate of ~50 % for conventional radiotherapy. This is due in particular to the tumor tissue's inherent sensitivity or resistance to radiation. Furthermore, (irreversible) side effects can occur, depending on the radiosensitivity inherent to the healthy tissue that is located adjacent to the tumor.

[0004] To avoid ineffective therapies and (irreversible) side effects, there is a clinical need for a solution that can predict radiotherapy success. This is particularly interesting from a health economics point of view, since such a solution would reduce the patient's average length of stay in the hospital and, consequently, the associated cost. Moreover, the avoidance of inefficacious treatments with potentially adverse side effects would positively influence overall outcome and prognosis. In addition, any solution that speeds up the time of clinical decision support and that provides transparency into the decision-marking process to make it comprehensible to the clinical is desirable.

[0005] Existing products and products under development differ particularly in the following features: Prediction of radiosensitivity / radioresistance in tumor tissue versus radiosensitivity / radiotoxicity in healthy tissue Universal (pan-cancer) versus tissue-specific (e.g. squamous cell lung carcinoma) prediction / application Technologies used and measured biological substance Medical knowledge and clinical guidelines integrated

[0006] Several platforms exist or are in development to determine radiosensitivity / radioresistance in tumor tissue.

[0007] Cvergenx' pGRT (precision genomic radiation therapy) platform (under development) is based on measuring the activity of ten genes (via RNA) to calculate a tumor radiosensitivity index (RSI, Eschrich et al., 2009, Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, DOI: 10.1016 / j.ijrobp.2009.06.014) and its integration into a model to adapt radiation dose (genomic-adjusted radiation dose, GARD, Scott et al., 2017, Lancet Oncol, DOI: 10.1016 / S1470-2045(16)30648-9) in chemoradiation therapy.

[0008] PFS Genomics' RadiotypeDX test (under development) is based on measuring the activity of 51 genes (via RNA) in breast cancer tissue and predicts a locoregional recurrence after adjuvant radiotherapy (Speers et al., 2015, Clin Cancer Res, DOI: 10.1158 / 1078-0432.CCR-14-2898).

[0009] Genomic Health's OncotypeDx test is based on measuring the activity of 21 genes (via RNA) in breast cancer tissue (in particular ductal carcinoma in situ, DCIS) and predicts radiotherapy success as well as locoregional recurrence after radiotherapy.

[0010] GenomeDx' Decipher test is based on measuring the activity of 22 and 24 genes (via RNA) in prostate cancer tissue and predicts the development of distal metastases after radical prostatectomy and post-operative radiotherapy (post-operative radiation therapy outcomes score, PORTOS, Zhao et al., 2016, Lancet Oncol, under development, DOI: 10.1016 / S1470-2045(16)30491-0), respectively.

[0011] OncoRadiomics' RadiomiX platform is based on calculating general, quantitative tumor features from medical CT images and predicts radiotherapy success, among other things (Aerts et al, 2014, Nat Commun, DOI: 10.1038 / ncomms5006).

[0012] Also, several approaches exist regarding the determination of radiotoxicity in healthy tissue.

[0013] NovaGray's Breast test is based on measuring apoptotic T-lymphocytes, induced by in vitro radiation of a blood sample (radiation-induced T-lymphocyte apoptosis, RILA), and identifies patients who likely respond hypersensitive to ionizing radiation and, therefore, are at risk of developing irreversible side effects, in particular fibrosis, in healthy breast tissue.

[0014] DiaCarta's RadTox test (under development) is based on measuring circulating, cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in blood, particularly the repetitive Alu sequence, as a measure of radiotherapy-induced tissue damage, and monitors potentially toxic side effects in healthy tissue, located adjacent to the tumor, after radiotherapy.

[0015] Furthermore, the following documents can be referred to as prior art: Enguix-Riego, et al: "S77 ESTRO 37 OC-0153 Multicenter prospective validation of HSPB1 rs2868371 SNP and survival in non-small cell lung cancer", , 15 June 2018 (2018-06-15), XP055671506, Retrieved from the Internet: URL:https: / / www.thegreenjournal.com / article / S0167-8140(18)30463-8 / pdf [retrieved on 2020-02-25] Marfa Dei Valle Enguix-Riego et al: "The single nucleotide variant rs2868371 associates with the risk of mortality in non-small cell lung cancer patients: A multicenter prospective validation", Radiotherapy and Oncology, vol. 136, 6 April 2019 (2019-04-06), pages 29-36, XP05567151 0,lreland ISSN: 0167-8140, DOI: 10.1016 / j.radonc.2019.03.025 Su et al: "Genetic polymorphisms and treatment response in advanced non-small cell lung cancer", LUNG CANCER, ELSEVIER, AMSTERDAM, NL, vol. 56, no. 2, 19 April 2007 (2007-04-19), pages 281-288, XP022034233, ISSN: 0169-5002, DOI: 10.1016 / J.LUNGCAN.2006.12.002 Olga Pernia et al: "Methylation status of IGFBP-3 as a useful clinical tool for deciding on a concomitant radiotherapy", EPIGENETICS, vol. 9, no. 11, 2 November 2014 (2014-11-02), pages 1446-1453, XP055324576, US ISSN: 1559-2294, DOI: 10.4161 / 15592294.2014.971626 Florczuk Mateusz et al: "miRNAs as Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Current Perspectives", TARGETED ONCOLOGY, SPRINGER PARIS, PARIS, vol. 12, no. 2, 27 February 2017 (2017-02-27), pages 179-200 XP036201139, ISSN: 1776-2596, DOI: 10.1007 / S11523-017-0478-5 [retrieved on 2017-02-27] CN 107 099 586 A Natalie L Ausborn et al: "Molecular Profiling to Optimize Treatment in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Review of Potential Molecular Targets for Radiation Therapy by the Translational Research Program of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group", INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RADIATION: ONCOLOGY BIOLOGY PHYSICS, PERGAMON PRESS, USA, vol. 83, no. 4, 17 January 2012 (2012-01-17), pages e453-e464, XP028492512, ISSN: 0360-3016, DOI: 10.1016 / J.IJROBP.2012.01 .056 [retrieved on 2012-01-20] Anonymous: "rs1799977 RefSNP Report - dbSNP - NCBI", , 9 July 2019 (2019-07-09), XP055671614, Retrieved from the Internet: URL:https: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs1799977 [retrieved on 2020-02-25] Jin-Yan Liang et al: "Clinical value of MLH1-negative circulating tumor cells in lung cancer patients :", MEDICINE., vol. 98, no. 25, 1 June 2019 (2019-06-01), page e15721, XP055671623, US ISSN: 0025-7974, DOI: 10.1097 / MD.0000000000015721 However, there remains a need for efficient markers for predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient. Summary of the invention

[0016] The present inventors found efficient markers for predicting radiotherapy success in patients suffering from a lung cancer.

[0017] The invention is set out in the appended set of claims. Further aspects and embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims and can be taken from the following description, figures and examples, without being limited thereto.Figures

[0018] The enclosed drawings should illustrate embodiments of the present invention and convey a further understanding thereof. In connection with the description they serve as explanation of concepts and principles of the invention. Other embodiments and many of the stated advantages can be derived in relation to the drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale towards each other. Identical, functionally equivalent and acting equal features and components are denoted in the figures of the drawings with the same reference numbers, unless noted otherwise. FIG. 1 shows schematically steps in a method of the first aspect of the invention. In FIG. 2 a method of the third aspect of the invention is illustrated schematically. FIG. 3 depicts schematically a method of the fifth aspect of the present invention. FIGs 4 and 5 show results obtained in Example 1. Detailed description of the inventionDefinitions

[0019] Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

[0020] In general, a gene is a sequence of nucleotides (nucleotide sequence) in DNA - which can be copied to RNA, e.g. mRNA - or RNA, i.e. nucleic acid molecules, coding for a molecule that has a function in an organism. The term "nucleic acid molecule" refers to a polynucleotide molecule having a defined sequence. It comprises DNA molecules, RNA molecules, nucleotide analog molecules and combinations and derivatives thereof, such as DNA molecules or RNA molecules with incorporated nucleotide analogs or cDNA.

[0021] With regard to the present invention, the following genes have the following sequence ID No. as reference gene, as per the attached sequence protocol: SEQ ID No. 1: MLH1; SEQ ID No. 2: EP300; SEQ ID No. 3: BRCA2; SEQ ID No. 4: FLT1; SEQ ID No. 5: GRINA; SEQ ID No. 6: HEATR1; SEQ ID No. 7: MUTYH; SEQ ID No. 8: NUDT1; SEQ ID No. 9: PARP10; SEQ ID No. 10: PRPF19; SEQ ID No. 11: KCNJ12; SEQ ID No. 12: MGMT; SEQ ID No. 13: PMS2P9; SEQ ID No. 14: DDX11; SEQ ID No. 15: EPHA2; SEQ ID No. 16: GEN1; SEQ ID No. 17: SETD2; SEQ ID No. 18: ZNF208; SEQ ID No. 19: APOLD1; SEQ ID No. 20: GPER1; SEQ ID No. 21: POLB; SEQ ID No. 22: ANKRD30A; SEQ ID No. 23: AR; SEQ ID No. 24: BTK; SEQ ID No. 25: GTF2H4; SEQ ID No. 26: IKBKE; SEQ ID No. 27: KAT6A; SEQ ID No. 28: NUDT19; SEQ ID No. 29: PARP1; SEQ ID No. 30: PTPRT; SEQ ID No. 31: TAF3; SEQ ID No. 32: TDG; SEQ ID No. 33: MAP3K1; SEQ ID No. 34: SLC9A4; SEQ ID No. 35: UNG; SEQ ID No. 36: SMUG1; SEQ ID No. 37: MBD4; SEQ ID No. 38: OGG1; SEQ ID No. 39: NTHL1; SEQ ID No. 40: MPG; SEQ ID No. 41: NEIL1; SEQ ID No. 42: NEIL2; SEQ ID No. 43: NEIL3; SEQ ID No. 44: APEX1; SEQ ID No. 45: APEX2; SEQ ID No. 46: LIG3; SEQ ID No. 47: XRCC1; SEQ ID No. 48: PNKP; SEQ ID No. 49: APLF; SEQ ID No. 50: PARP2; SEQ ID No. 51: PARP3; SEQ ID No. 52: ALKBH2; SEQ ID No. 53: ALKBH3; SEQ ID No. 54: TDP1; SEQ ID No. 55: TDP2; SEQ ID No. 56: MSH2; SEQ ID No. 57: MSH3; SEQ ID No. 58: MSH6; SEQ ID No. 59: PMS2; SEQ ID No. 60: MSH4; SEQ ID No. 61: MSH5; SEQ ID No. 62: MLH3; SEQ ID No. 63: PMS1; SEQ ID No. 64: PMS2P3; SEQ ID No. 65: XPC; SEQ ID No. 66: RAD23B; SEQ ID No. 67: CETN2; SEQ ID No. 68: RAD23A; SEQ ID No. 69: XPA; SEQ ID No. 70: DDB1; SEQ ID No. 71: DDB2; SEQ ID No. 72: RPA1; SEQ ID No. 73: RPA2; SEQ ID No. 74: RPA3; SEQ ID No. 75: ERCC3; SEQ ID No. 76: ERCC2; SEQ ID No. 77: GTF2H1; SEQ ID No. 78: GTF2H2; SEQ ID No. 79: GTF2H3; SEQ ID No. 80: GTF2H5; SEQ ID No. 81: CDK7; SEQ ID No. 82: CCNH; SEQ ID No. 83: MNAT1; SEQ ID No. 84: ERCC5; SEQ ID No. 85: ERCC1; SEQ ID No. 86: ERCC4; SEQ ID No. 87: LIG1; SEQ ID No. 88: ERCC8; SEQ ID No. 89: ERCC6; SEQ ID No. 90: UVSSA; SEQ ID No. 91: XAB2; SEQ ID No. 92: MMS19; SEQ ID No. 93: RAD51; SEQ ID No. 94: RAD51B; SEQ ID No. 95: RAD51D; SEQ ID No. 96: DMC1; SEQ ID No. 97: XRCC2; SEQ ID No. 98: XRCC3; SEQ ID No. 99: RAD52; SEQ ID No. 100: RAD54L; SEQ ID No. 101: RAD54B; SEQ ID No. 102: BRCA1; SEQ ID No. 103: SHFM1; SEQ ID No. 104: RAD50; SEQ ID No. 105: MRE11A; SEQ ID No. 106: NBN; SEQ ID No. 107: RBBP8; SEQ ID No. 108: MUS81; SEQ ID No. 109: EME1; SEQ ID No. 110: EME2; SEQ ID No. 111: SLX1A; SEQ ID No. 112: SLX1B; SEQ ID No. 113: FANCA; SEQ ID No. 114: FANCB; SEQ ID No. 115: FANCC; SEQ ID No. 116: FANCD2; SEQ ID No. 117: FANCE; SEQ ID No. 118: FANCF; SEQ ID No. 119: FANCG; SEQ ID No. 120: FANCI; SEQ ID No. 121: BRIP1; SEQ ID No. 122: FANCL; SEQ ID No. 123: FANCM; SEQ ID No. 124: PALB2; SEQ ID No. 125: RAD51C; SEQ ID No. 126: SLX4; SEQ ID No. 127: FAAP20; SEQ ID No. 128: FAAP24; SEQ ID No. 129: XRCC6; SEQ ID No. 130: XRCC5; SEQ ID No. 131: PRKDC; SEQ ID No. 132: LIG4; SEQ ID No. 133: XRCC4; SEQ ID No. 134: DCLRE1C; SEQ ID No. 135: NHEJ1; SEQ ID No. 136: DUT; SEQ ID No. 137: RRM2B; SEQ ID No. 138: POLG; SEQ ID No. 139: POLD1; SEQ ID No. 140: POLE; SEQ ID No. 141: PCNA; SEQ ID No. 142: REV3L; SEQ ID No. 143: MAD2L2; SEQ ID No. 144: REV1; SEQ ID No. 145: POLH; SEQ ID No. 146: POLI; SEQ ID No. 147: POLQ; SEQ ID No. 148: POLK; SEQ ID No. 149: POLL; SEQ ID No. 150: POLM; SEQ ID No. 151: POLN; SEQ ID No. 152: FEN1; SEQ ID No. 153: FAN1; SEQ ID No. 154: TREX1; SEQ ID No. 155: TREX2; SEQ ID No. 156: EXO1; SEQ ID No. 157: APTX; SEQ ID No. 158: SPO11; SEQ ID No. 159: ENDOV; SEQ ID No. 160: UBE2A; SEQ ID No. 161: UBE2B; SEQ ID No. 162: RAD18; SEQ ID No. 163: SHPRH; SEQ ID No. 164: HLTF; SEQ ID No. 165: RNF168; SEQ ID No. 166: SPRTN; SEQ ID No. 167: RNF8; SEQ ID No. 168: UBE2V2; SEQ ID No. 169: UBE2N; SEQ ID No. 170: H2AFX; SEQ ID No. 171: CHAF1A; SEQ ID No. 172: SETMAR; SEQ ID No. 173: BLM; SEQ ID No. 174: WRN; SEQ ID No. 175: RECQL4; SEQ ID No. 176: ATM; SEQ ID No. 177: MPLKIP; SEQ ID No. 178: DCLRELA; SEQ ID No. 179: DCLRE1B; SEQ ID No. 180: RPA4; SEQ ID No. 181: RECQL; SEQ ID No. 182: RECQL5; SEQ ID No. 183: HELQ; SEQ ID No. 184: RDM1; SEQ ID No. 185: NABP2; SEQ ID No. 186: ATR; SEQ ID No. 187: ATRIP; SEQ ID No. 188: MDC1; SEQ ID No. 189: RAD1; SEQ ID No. 190: RAD9A; SEQ ID No. 191: HUS1; SEQ ID No. 192: RAD17; SEQ ID No. 193: CHEK1; SEQ ID No. 194: CHEK2; SEQ ID No. 195: TP53; SEQ ID No. 196: TP53BP1; SEQ ID No. 197: RIF1; SEQ ID No. 198: TOPBP1; SEQ ID No. 199: CLK2; SEQ ID No. 200: PER1; SEQ ID No. 201: RNF4

[0022] A change in the nucleotide sequence relates to a variation in the sequence as compared to a reference sequence. A change in the nucleotide sequence is for example a deletion of one or multiple nucleotides, an insertion of one or multiple nucleotides, a substitution of one or multiple nucleotides, a duplication of one or a sequence of multiple nucleotides, a translocation of one or a sequence of multiple nucleotides, etc. Thus, it also encompasses single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) and multi-nucleotide variants (MNVs).

[0023] In the context of the present invention a "sample" is a sample which comprises at least nucleotide sequence and / or epi-genetic profile and / or expression profile and / or copy number information of a patient. Examples for samples are cells, tissue, biopsy specimens, body fluids, blood, urine, saliva, sputum, plasma, serum, cell culture supernatant, swab sample and others, e.g. tumor tissue. According to certain embodiments the sample is a blood sample. In this regard it was found that the mutations particularly are not somatic, so that also blood samples, e.g. peripheral blood, are possible as samples. Peripheral blood in this regard refers to the circulating pool of blood within the patient. According to certain embodiments the sample is a tissue or a biopsy specimen which can be fixated or not, wherein a fixation can be e.g. carried out by freezing or usual fixation methods like for formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue.

[0024] According to certain embodiments, the patient in the present methods is a vertebrate, more preferably a mammal and most preferred a human.

[0025] A vertebrate within the present invention refers to animals having a vertebrae, which includes mammals - including humans, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes. The present invention thus is not only suitable for human medicine, but also for veterinary medicine.

[0026] Radiotherapy success can be based on a combination of somatic features / mutations (e.g. radiosensitivity / radioresistance of cancerous tissue) and germline features / mutations (innate radiosensitivity / radioresistance).

[0027] According to certain embodiments, a success in radiotherapy with adjuvant therapies, particularly chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and / or surgical therapy, is predicted in the present methods of treating a lung cancer of a patient.

[0028] In the present invention the radiotherapy method is not particularly restricted. According to certain embodiments, the radiotherapy is external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), in particular x-ray and particle therapy, brachytherapy (internal radiation therapy), in particular low-dose rate (LDR) and high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy, or targeted radiation therapy. It is also not excluded that adjuvant therapies are included. According to certain embodiments the radiotherapy method thus also can be radiochemotherapy.

[0029] According to certain embodiments, the prediction of radiotherapy success includes a prediction of locoregional response and / or recurrence.

[0030] Gene coordinates can be obtained from the following resource: ftp: / / ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / genomes / all / GCF / 000 / 001 / 405 / GCF_00 0001405.33_GRCh38.p7 / GCF_000001405.33_GRCh38.p7_feature_table .txt.gz.

[0031] Before the invention is described in exemplary detail, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular component parts of the process steps of the methods described herein as such methods may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for purposes of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. It must be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" include singular and / or plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, the term "a" as used herein can be understood as one single entity or in the meaning of "one or more" entities. It is also to be understood that plural forms include singular and / or plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It is moreover to be understood that, in case parameter ranges are given which are delimited by numeric values, the ranges are deemed to include these limitation values.

[0032] In a first aspect the present invention relates to a method of predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient, wherein the lung cancer is lung squamous cell carcinoma, comprising determining a change in the nucleotide sequence of MLH1 in a sample obtained from the patient.

[0033] E.g. the sample can be taken from a stock or a storage, be obtained in vitro, etc.

[0034] For the determining of a change in the nucleotide sequence it is possible to obtain nucleotide sequence information of MLH1 in the sample by a suitable method, which is not particularly restricted.

[0035] For example, nucleotide sequence information can be obtained by DNA sequencing methods that are not particularly restricted, e.g. Sanger sequencing methods, shotgun sequencing methods, bridge PCR methods, and next-generation sequencing methods.

[0036] The methods of sequencing nucleic acids referred to as next-generation sequencing have opened the possibility of large-scale genomic analysis. The term "next-generation sequencing" or "high-throughput sequencing" refers to high-throughput sequencing technologies that parallelize the sequencing process, producing thousands or millions of sequences at once. Examples include Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing (MPSS), Polony sequencing, 454 pyrosequencing, Illumina (So-lexa) sequencing, SOLiD sequencing, Ion Torrent semiconductor sequencing, DNA nanoball sequencing, Helioscope(TM) single molecule sequencing, Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT) sequencing, Nanopore DNA sequencing, and RNA Polymerase (RNAP) sequencing, each with or without prior employment of target enrichment techniques like hybridization capture.

[0037] After the determination, the nucleotide sequence can then be compared to the respective reference, i.e. the reference sequence. By comparison, a change in the nucleotide sequence can then be determined.

[0038] However, it is not excluded that the respective information about the nucleotide sequence is already provided together with the sample of the patient, so that only the comparing to a reference has to be carried out.

[0039] In the present invention a change in the nucleotide sequence of MLH1 can be indicative of an enhanced or a reduced radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient. This means that a certain change in the nucleotide sequence of MLH1 can be indicative of an enhanced radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient, while another change in the nucleotide sequence of MLH1 can be indicative of a reduced radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient.

[0040] According to certain embodiments at least one change in the nucleotide sequence is determined from rs1799977 as disclosed in the Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Database dbSNP of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

[0041] The changes as disclosed in the Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Database dbSNP of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) are thereby as follows (for Homo sapiens): rs1799977: chr3:37012077 (GRCh38.p12) (position 18728 in SEQ ID No. 1, MLH1); alleles: A>C, A>G, A>T; variation Type: SNV; gene: MLH1, missense variant

[0042] According to certain embodiments, a change in the nucleotide sequence of MLH1 is indicative of an enhanced radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung squamous cell carcinoma of a patient.

[0043] According to certain embodiments a change in the nucleotide sequence of rs1799977 is indicative of an enhanced radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung squamous cell carcinoma of a patient.

[0044] FIG. 1 shows schematically steps in a method of the first aspect of the invention, wherein step 1 corresponds to obtaining or providing a sample of the patient, and step 2 corresponds to determining a change in the nucleotide sequence of MLH1.

[0045] A second aspect of the present invention is directed to a use of a change in the nucleotide sequence of MLH1, particularly a change in the nucleotide sequence of rs1799977 as disclosed in the Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Database dbSNP of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), as a marker for predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient, wherein the lung cancer is lung squamous cell carcinoma. In particular, the at least one change in the nucleotide sequence from rs1799977 is indicative of an enhanced radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient.

[0046] The following third aspect and the corresponding Fig. 2 is present for illustrative purposes only as the corresponding claim has been deleted from the claim set during prosecution: Also disclosed but not part of the invention is a method of predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient, wherein the lung cancer is lung squamous cell carcinoma, comprising: obtaining nucleotide sequence data of a sample of a patient, and determining a change in the nucleotide sequence of MLH1 in the nucleotide sequence data.

[0047] The step of obtaining nucleotide sequence data of a sample of a patient is not particularly restricted, and the respective data can be obtained by any suitable method, particularly in electronic form, e.g. based on an evaluation of a sample of a patient.

[0048] Also, the step of determining the presence of at least one marker as disclosed in the second aspect is not particularly restricted, and it can be carried out in any suitable manner, e.g. using sufficient means like tools for automatically evaluating the nucleotide sequence data of the sample of the patient for the presence of the respective marker(s). For example, the evaluation can be carried out with the help of or exclusively using a computer program product, which is not particularly restricted.

[0049] In FIG. 2 a method of the third aspect of the invention is illustrated schematically, wherein step 3 corresponds to obtaining nucleotide sequence data of a sample of a patient, and step 4 to determining the presence of at least one marker as disclosed in the second aspect.

[0050] In a third aspect a computer program product is disclosed, comprising computer executable instructions which, when executed, perform a method of predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient, wherein the lung cancer is lung squamous cell carcinoma, comprising: obtaining nucleotide sequence data of a sample of a patient, and determining a change in the nucleotide sequence of MLH1 in the nucleotide sequence data.

[0051] According to certain embodiments the computer program product is one on which program commands or program codes of a computer program for executing said method are stored. According to certain embodiments the computer program product is or comprises a storage medium.

[0052] A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to a method of predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient, comprising: obtaining nucleotide sequence data of a sample of a patient, and analyzing the nucleotide sequence data using the computer program product of the third aspect.

[0053] Again, the step of obtaining nucleotide sequence data of a sample of a patient is not particularly restricted.

[0054] Also, the step of analyzing the nucleotide sequence data using the computer program product of the fourth aspect is not particularly restricted and can be carried out e.g. automatically, but also with the settings of suitable parameters by a user.

[0055] FIG. 3 depicts schematically a method of the fifth aspect of the present invention, wherein step 5 corresponds to obtaining nucleotide sequence data of a sample of a patient, and step 6 corresponds to analyzing the nucleotide sequence data using the computer program product of the fourth aspect.

[0056] The present inventors further also particularly found that a change in the nucleotide sequence in a DNA damage repair gene, namely MLH1, can be predictive of a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient.

[0057] In particular, MLH1 can be seen as a mismatch excision repair (MMR) gene.

[0058] The above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily, if appropriate. Further possible embodiments and implementations of the invention comprise also combinations of features not explicitly mentioned in the foregoing or in the following with regard to the Examples of the invention. Particularly, a person skilled in the art will also add individual aspects as improvements or additions to the respective basic form of the invention.Examples

[0059] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to several examples thereof. However, these examples are illustrative and do not limit the scope of the invention.Example 1I) Cohort information

[0060] A cohort of 84 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and different response rates to chemoradiotherapy was evaluated in a cross-validated evaluation. The therapy comprised neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy (RCT).

[0061] The samples of the cohort were fresh frozen tumor tissue. NSCLC samples were classified as either lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), NSCLC neuroendo-crine differentiation (NE), or NSCLC not otherwise specified (NOS). Patient samples were classified as either complete response (CR), partial response (PR), stable disease (SD), or progressive disease (PD), dependent on locoregional response to chemoradiation. LUSC samples were classified as either complete response (CR), partial response (PR), stable disease (SD), or progressive disease (PD), dependent on locoregional response to chemoradiation.

[0062] The exome of extracted sample DNA was enriched using Ag-ilent's SureSelect Human All Exon V6+COSMIC hybridization capture kit and sequenced on an Illumina NextSeq 500 instrument.

[0063] Further information regarding the patients is given in Tables 1 (cancer stage), 2 (cancer subtype) and 3 (pathological response). Table 1: cancer stage of patientsStage#PatientsIIA3IIB7IIIA69IIIB5 Table 2: Cancer subtype Subtype#PatientsLUAD44LUSC32NSCLC NE2NSCLC NOS6 Table 3: Pathologic response Respo nse#NSCLC#LUAD#LUSCYesCR21613PR20117NoSD19153PD24129 II) Variant calling

[0064] Small insertions, deletions, single nucleotide variants (SNVs), multiple nucleotide variants (MNVs), and replacements (in the following termed variants) were called using the Low Frequency Variant Detection tool from the Identify and Annotate Variants (WES)-Workflow of QIAGEN's Biomedical Genomics Workbench 5.0.1.

[0065] The parameter setting was as follows: QIAGEN's Biomedical Genomics Workbench 5.0.1a) Identify and Annotate Variants (WES)Map Reads to Reference

[0066] Parameter Value ReferencesGRCh38.p7Masking modeNo maskingMatch score1Mismatch cost2Cost of insertions and deletionsAffine gap costInsertion open cost6Insertion extend cost1Deletion open cost6Deletion extend cost1Length fraction0.5Similarity fraction0.8Global alignmentNoAuto-detect paired distancesYesNon-specific match handlingMap randomlyOutput modeCreate reads trackCreate reportNoCollect un-mapped readsNo b) InDels and Structural Variants 1.85

[0067] Parameter Value P-value threshold0.0001Maximum number of mismatches2Create reportNoCreate breakpointsNoCreate InDel variantsYesIgnore broken pairsYesMinimum relative consensus coverage0.2Minimum quality score30Create structural variationsNoFilter variantsYesMinimum number of reads3 Restrict calling to target regions S07604715 Padded.bed*

[0068] *Target regions of Agilent's SureSelect Human All Exon V6+COSMIC r2 (Design ID: S07604715) c) Local Realignment 0.41

[0069] Parameter Value Realign unaligned endsYesMulti-pass realignment3Guidance-variant trackInDels from InDels and Structural VariantsMaximum guidance-variant length200Force realignment to guidance-variantsNoOutput modeCreate reads trackOutput track of realigned regionsNo d) Low Frequency Variant Detection 2.0

[0070] Parameter Value Required significance (%)1.0Ignore positions with coverage above 100, 000Restrict calling to target regionsS07604715_Padded.bed*Ignore broken pairsYesIgnore non-specific matchesReadsMinimum coverage5Minimum count3Minimum frequency (%)5.0Base quality filterYesNeighborhood radius5Minimum central quality30Minimum neighborhood quality20Read direction filterNoRelative read direction filterNoRead position filterYesSignificance (%)1.0Remove pyro-error variantsNoCreate trackYesCreate annotated tableNoCreate reportNo* Target regions of Agilent's SureSelect Human All Exon V6+COSMIC r2 (Design ID: S07604715) e) Remove False Positives 1.2

[0071] Parameter Value Minimum frequency (%)5.0Minimum forward / reverse balance0.1Minimum average base quality30.0Variant frequencyYesForward / reverse balanceYesAverage base qualityYes III) Statistical analysis and machine learning

[0072] In the following, the methods used to build models predicting radiotherapy response are described.

[0073] Three feature levels were included: 1. Small insertions, small deletions, single nucleotide variants (SNVs), multiple nucleotide variants (MNVs), and replacements (in the following termed variants) 2. Mutational burden in single genes (GMB) 3. Mutational burden in multiple genes (TMB)

[0074] Only informative GMB features (standard deviation across samples > 0.5) and frequently occurring variants (variants occurring in at least 50 % of samples in either response group) were considered.

[0075] Features with a p-value < 0.05 calculated using either Fisher's exact tests (variants) or Wilcoxon rank-sum tests (GMB features) were selected. In the process, a bootstrapping procedure was applied to primarily select stable / recurrent features, i.e. features that repeatedly emerge in bootstrapping samples (features with p-value < 0.05 in at least 80 % of 50 bootstrap samples containing a random sample of 80 % of all samples).

[0076] For the predictive models, both linear - in particular elastic-net regularized logistic regression (R package glmnet 2.0-16; alpha = 0.99) - and non-linear - in particular random forest (R package randomForest 4.6-14; ntree = 1000) - models were calculated predicting radiotherapy response. To evaluate the performance of predictive models, a 100-fold iterated 4-fold cross-validation procedure was applied.IV) Resultsi) Variants

[0077] The variants described in the following were found.

[0078] The variants are uniquely characterized by their Human Genome Variation Society (HGVS) nomenclature, Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Database (dbSNP) identifier, ClinVar identifier and / or Universal Protein Knowledgebase (UniProtKB) identifier (as of April 25, 2019)LUSC-specific variants

[0079] The following variants are specifically predictive for radiotherapy response in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) patients. The number and fraction of patients carrying the respective variant are split into those that do respond (CR and PR) and those that do not respond (SD and PD) to locoregional chemoradiation.1) BRCA2

[0080] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000013.11:g.32337751A>GdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs1801406ClinVarhttps: / / preview.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / clinvar / variation / 126010UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes11 (of 20)No1 (of 12)

[0081] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced2) DDX11

[0082] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000012.12:g.31101061C>TdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs1046456ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes8 (of 20)No11 (of 12)

[0083] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Reduced3) EPHA2

[0084] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000001.11:g.16125272G>AdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs3754334ClinVarhttps: / / preview.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / clinvar / variation / 259392UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes11 (of 20)No1 (of 12)

[0085] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced4) FLT1

[0086] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000013.11:g.28308924G>AdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs7993418ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes20 (of 20)No8 (of 12)

[0087] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced5) GEN1

[0088] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000002.12:g.17764976A>GdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs16981869ClinVar-UniProtKBhttps: / / www.uniprot.org / uniprot / Q17RS7#VAR 037845 Response #Patients Yes2 (of 20)No6 (of 12)

[0089] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Reduced6) GEN1

[0090] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000002.12:g.17768673_17768675delTAA)dbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / projects / SNP / snp_ref .cgi?do_not_redirect&rs=rs72407975ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes1 (of 20)No6 (of 12)

[0091] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Reduced7) GRINA

[0092] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000008.11:g.143991836C>GdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs67714660ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes19 (of 20)No6 (of 12)

[0093] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced8) GRINA

[0094] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000008.11:g.143992685C>TdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs56261297ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes19 (of 20)No6 (of 12)

[0095] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced9) HEATR1

[0096] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000001.11:g.236553659C>TdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs2275685ClinVar-UniProtKB 3- Response #Patients Yes20 (of 20)No8 (of 12)

[0097] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced10) HEATR1

[0098] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000001.11:g.236554626T>CdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs2275687ClinVar-UniProtKBhttps: / / www.uniprot.org / uniprot / Q9H583#VAR 010942 Response #Patients Yes20 (of 20)No8 (of 12)

[0099] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced11) HEATR1

[0100] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000001.11:g.236555893A>GdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs1885533ClinVar-UniProtKB 3https: / / www.uniprot.org / uniprot / Q9H583#VAR 010940 Response #Patients Yes20 (of 20)No8 (of 12)

[0101] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced12) HEATR1

[0102] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000001.11:g.236555959G>AdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs1885534ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes20 (of 20)No7 (of 12)

[0103] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced13) HEATR1

[0104] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000001.11:g.236585205T>CdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs1006456ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes20 (of 20)No8 (of 12)

[0105] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced14) HEATR1

[0106] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000001.11:g.236586349T>CdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs2794763ClinVar-UniProtKBhttps: / / www.uniprot.org / uniprot / Q9H583#VAR 049330 Response #Patients Yes20 (of 20)No7 (of 12)

[0107] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced15) MLH1

[0108] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000003.12:g.37012077A>GdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs1799977ClinVarhttps: / / preview.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / clinvar / variation / 36557UniProtKBhttps: / / www.uniprot.org / uniprot / P40692#VAR 004450 Response #Patients Yes13 (of 20)No0 (of 12)

[0109] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced16) MUTYH

[0110] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000001.11:g.45338378C>TdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs3219472ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes4 (of 20)No8 (of 12)

[0111] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Reduced17) NUDT1

[0112] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000007.14:g.2251050C>TdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs1062492ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes10 (of 20)No0 (of 12)

[0113] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced18) PARP10

[0114] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000008.11:g.143985257T>CdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs11136344ClinVar-UniProtKBhttps: / / www.uniprot.org / uniprot / Q9H583#VAR 027859 Response #Patients Yes19 (of 20)No6 (of 12)

[0115] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced19) PARP10

[0116] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000008.11:g.143985944G>AdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs11136345ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes19 (of 20)No6 (of 12)

[0117] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced20) PRPF19

[0118] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000011.10:g.60903374C>TdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs2240045ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes17 (of 20)No4 (of 12)

[0119] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced21) SETD2

[0120] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000003.12:g.47083895G>AdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs4082155ClinVarhttps: / / preview.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / clinvar / variation / 135202UniProtKBhttps: / / www.uniprot.org / uniprot / Q9BYW2#VAR 027841 Response #Patients Yes18 (of 20)No5 (of 12)

[0121] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced22) ZNF208

[0122] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000019.10:g.21973116T>CdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs10425763ClinVar-UniProtKBhttps: / / www.uniprot.org / uniprot / O43345#VAR_059903 Response #Patients Yes12 (of 20)No1 (of 12)

[0123] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: EnhancedNSCLC-specific variants

[0124] The following variants are predictive of radiotherapy response in the 84 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The number and fraction of patients carrying the respective variant are split into those that do respond (CR and PR) and those that do not respond (SD and PD) to locoregional chemoradiation.1) EP300

[0125] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000022.11:g.41152004A>GdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs20551ClinVarhttps: / / preview.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / clinvar / variation / 93736UniProtKBhttps: / / www.uniprot.org / uniprot / Q09472#VAR_020425) Response #Patients Yes23 (of 41)No10 (of 43)

[0126] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced2) KCNJ12

[0127] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000017.11:g.21416533C>TdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs72846670ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes40 (of 41)No33 (of 43)

[0128] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced3) KCNJ12

[0129] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000017.11:g.21416556G>AdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs73979902ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes41 (of 41)No35 (of 43)

[0130] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Enhanced4) MGMT

[0131] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000010.11:g.129467401T>GdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs16906255ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes12 (of 41)No29 (of 43)

[0132] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Reduced5) PMS2P9

[0133] Database ID / URI HGVSNC_000007.14:g.77040016_77040017delinsCAdbSNPhttps: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / snp / rs73144285ClinVar-UniProtKB- Response #Patients Yes12 (of 41)No25 (of 43)

[0134] Potential effect of variant on tumor sensitivity to ionizing radiation: Reducedii) GMB

[0135] The mutational burden in a gene (GMB) has been calculated as the sum over all variants in that gene using the gene coordinates from Ensembl release 91. The following GMBs were found as predictive.LUSC-specific genes

[0136] The GMB of the following genes is specifically predictive for radiotherapy response in LUSC patients: APOLD1, DDX11, GEN1, GPER1, MLH1, POLB, PRPF19

[0137] The statistical significance of association with radiotherapy response is higher for the GMB of these genes.NSCLC-specific genes

[0138] The GMB of the following genes is specifically predictive for radiotherapy response in NSCLC - including LUSC - patients: ANKRD30A, AR, BTK, GTF2H4, HEATR1, IKBKE, KAT6A, MAP3K1, NUDT19, PARP1, PTPRT, SLC9A4, TAF3, TDG

[0139] The statistical significance of association with radiotherapy response is higher for the GMB of these genes.iii) TMB

[0140] The tumor mutational burden (TMB) has been calculated as the sum over all somatic variants in one of the following genomic territories 1. All genomic positions that are covered by the SureSelect Human All Exon V6+COSMIC r2 kit (Design ID: S07604715) of Ag-ilent (65,724,874 bases) 2. All genomic positions that are covered by the NEOplus v2 RUO panel of NEO New Oncology (1,150,757 bases) 3. All genomic positions that are covered by both above kits (1,118,543 bases)

[0141] Somatic variants were defined as those that could not be found in the human reference sequence (build 38 patch release 7), the Common dbSNP database (build 150), the 1000 Genomes Project (all phase 3 individuals) or the HapMap Project (phase 3 populations ASW, CEU, CHB, CHD, GIH, HCB, JPT, LWK, MEX, MKK, TSI, YRI) using the Filter Somatic Variants (WES)-Workflow of QIAGEN's Biomedical Genomics Workbench 5.0.1. Hence, the TMB is a natural number (including zero). To make a TMB value better comparable to a TMB value that has been calculated on a genomic territory of a different size, the TMB value can also be specified as the average number of somatic variants per mega base (1 MB) by dividing the TMB value by the size of the genomic territory and multiplying the resulting ratio by 1,000,000. In this case, the TMB is a positive rational number.

[0142] While this procedure exemplifies the calculation of the TMB, the TMB can also be calculated differently, e.g. considering only non-synonymous variants or using genomic territories different to those stated above.

[0143] Fig. 4 shows the positive relationship between TMB and locoregional response to radiotherapy for all LUSC samples. A negative response is therein shown with reference number 7, and a positive response with reference number 8.

[0144] The TMB value of each LUSC sample is overlaid (and randomly scattered along the x-axis for better separation) and colored according to treatment response. The TMB value has been calculated within the genomic territory described in above 3.. To separate responding from non-responding samples, a cutoff value can be used. In the box plot a possible TMB cutoff value of 21.45648 per MB is drawn as dashed line. This cutoff results in a prediction accuracy TP + TN TP + TN + FP + FN of 0.6875 10 + 12 10 + 12 + 0 + 10 .iv) Combination of SNV in MLH1 and TMB

[0145] As an exemplary value, also a radiotherapy success prediction has been made for a combination of the above SNV in MLH1 combined with TMB.

[0146] Fig.5 shows the benefit when combining two features - TMB and single nucleotide variation (SNV) rs1799977 in MLH1 - in the prediction of treatment response (WT = wild type or reference base). A negative response is therein again shown with reference number 7, and a positive response with reference number 8.

[0147] The TMB cutoff value of 21.45648 per MB is drawn as dashed line to make the two figures easier to compare. The accuracy is 0.78125 ( 13 + 12 13 + 12 + 0 + 7 ) when using the presence or absence of the MLH1 variant as predictor. The accuracy increases to 0.875 ( 16 + 12 16 + 12 + 0 + 4 ) when combining (OR logical operator) the presence or absence of the MLH1 variant with the TMB cutoff value. While this calculation exemplifies the combination of two features, the combination can also be done using a linear - e.g. logistic regression - or non-linear - e.g. Random Forest - statistical / machine learning method.

[0148] The following paragraphs contain the description of an exemplary further idea, which should not be interpreted in any way limiting the inventive concept: Generally, so-called "omics technologies" can allow measuring the following parameters on a genomic scale: variations in DNA (e.g. SNVs, MNVs, InDels, copy number, etc.), changes in epigenomic profiles (e.g. DNA methylations, DNA hydroxymethylations, histone modifications, etc.), changes in expression levels of RNAs and / or proteins, and the multitude of their modifications (e.g. RNA methylations, protein phosphorylations, etc.)

[0149] These variations, and features calculated from combinations of few and / or many variations, such as the tumor mutational burden (TMB), can be - positively or negatively - associated with radiotherapy success, and thus, may be leveraged in algorithms for predicting radiotherapy success. One challenge can be to prioritize those variations with respect to their impact on radiotherapy success and select those variations that are most relevant for a predictor of radiotherapy success.

[0150] Those variations could be preselected from the pool of variations in DNA and / or changes in epigenomic profiles and / or changes in RNA and / or protein expression levels (in the following termed biomolecule features) that reside in biomolecules that are known to be involved (as active component or its regulator) in the biological process of either DNA damage repair (e.g. MLH1, a tumor suppressor gene, taking a physiological role in DNA mismatch repair) and / or angiogenesis (e.g. EP300, a transcriptional coactivator, taking a physiological role in the stimulation of hypoxia-induced genes, e.g. VEGF).

[0151] Therefore, the biomolecule features can be selected in a way that they are, separately or (linearly or nonlinearly) combined, predictive of therapy success and / or they are also predictive of therapy success when using other treatment regimens of radiation and / or adjuvant therapy and / or they are also predictive of other subtypes of lung cancer, other cancer types (e.g. breast cancer) and different tumor stages).

[0152] The (pre)selection of the biomolecule features that are known to be involved in either DNA damage response or angiogenesis, which are biological processes that are fundamental to the tissue's response to ionizing radiation, may enable the extraction of the most relevant biomolecule features required for predicting radiotherapy success and / or locoregional recurrence.

[0153] The biomolecule features can be obtained from / measured in different biospecimens, such as tumor tissue, blood, urine, sputum, etc. and / or can be measured by any technology (e.g. PCR, sequencing, hybridization-based) and / or can be combined irrespective of being somatic (radiosensitivity / radioresistance of cancerous tissue) or germline (innate radiosensitivity).

[0154] While focusing on a defined set of biomolecules can reduce computation analysis time, ignoring features in biomolecules that are involved in biological processes not relevant to the tissue's response to ionizing radiation could facilitate to uncover relevant but otherwise not statistically significant features.

[0155] Since in this exemplary idea, the number of biomolecules to inspect may be reduced, clinicians may be able to interpret results faster. Furthermore, clinicians may be able to appraise the impact of relevant variations on radiotherapy success in the context of other biomolecules from the same biological process (e.g. by visualizing variations in the corresponding biological pathway).

Claims

1. A method of predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient, wherein the lung cancer is lung squamous cell carcinoma, comprising determining a change in the nucleotide sequence of MLH1 in a sample obtained from the patient.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one change in the nucleotide sequence is determined from rs1799977, as disclosed in the Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Database dbSNP of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one change in the nucleotide sequence from rs1799977 is indicative of an enhanced radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient.

4. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the patient is a human.

5. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sample is a blood sample.

6. Use of a change in the nucleotide sequence of MLH1 as a marker for predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient, wherein the change in the nucleotide sequence of MLH1 is determined in the sample from a patient and wherein the lung cancer is lung squamous cell carcinoma.

7. Computer program product comprising computer executable instructions which, when executed, perform a method of predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient, wherein the lung cancer is lung squamous cell carcinoma, comprising: - obtaining nucleotide sequence data of a sample of a patient, and - determining a change in the nucleotide sequence of MLH1 in the nucleotide sequence data.

8. A method of predicting a radiotherapy success in a method of treating a lung cancer of a patient, wherein the lung cancer is lung squamous cell carcinoma, comprising: - obtaining nucleotide sequence data of a sample of a patient, and - analyzing the nucleotide sequence data using the computer program product of claim 7.