18F-BMS-986229 PET to Assess Programmed-Death Ligand 1 Status in Gastroesophageal Cancer

Anti–programmed death 1 (PD-1) inhibitors are the standard of care for advanced gastroesophageal cancer. Although recommendations and approval by regulatory agencies are often based on programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression, pathologic assessments of PD-L1 status have several limitations. Single-site biopsies do not adequately capture disease heterogeneity within individual tumor lesions or among several lesions within the same patient, the PD-L1 combined positive score is a dynamic biomarker subject to evolution throughout a patient's disease course, and repeated biopsies are invasive and not always feasible. Methods: This was a prospective pilot study of the PD-L1–targeting radiotracer, ¹⁸F-BMS-986229, with PET imaging (PD-L1 PET) in patients with gastroesophageal cancer. Patients were administered the ¹⁸F-BMS-986229 radiotracer intravenously at a dose of 370 MBq over 1–2 min and underwent whole-body PET/CT imaging 60 min later. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of ¹⁸F-BMS-986229. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04161781). Results: Between February 3, 2020, and February 2, 2022, 10 patients with gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma underwent PD-L1 PET. There were no adverse events associated with the ¹⁸F-BMS-986229 tracer, and imaging did not result in treatment delays; the primary endpoint was achieved. Radiographic evaluation of PD-L1 expression was concordant with pathologic assessment in 88% of biopsied lesions, and ¹⁸F-BMS-986229 uptake on PET imaging correlated with pathologic evaluation by the combined positive score (Spearman rank correlation coefficient, 0.64). Seventy-one percent of patients with ¹⁸F-BMS-986229 accumulation on PET imaging also had lesions without ¹⁸F-BMS-986229 uptake, highlighting the intrapatient heterogeneity of PD-L1 expression. Patients treated with frontline programmed death 1 inhibitors who had ¹⁸F-BMS-986229 accumulation in any lesions on PET imaging had longer progression-free survival than patients without tracer accumulation in any lesions (median progression-free survival, 28.4 vs. 9.9 mo), though the small sample size prevents any definitive conclusions. Conclusion: PD-L1 PET imaging was safe, feasible, and concordant with pathologic evaluation and offers a potential noninvasive tool to assess PD-L1 expression.