Knowledge graph-based recommendation framework identifies drivers of resistance in EGFR mutant non-small cell lung cancer

Resistance to EGFR inhibitors presents a major obstacle in treating non-small cell lung cancer. Here, the authors develop a recommender system ranking genes based on trade-offs between diverse types of evidence linking them to potential mechanisms of EGFRi resistance. Resistance to EGFR inhibitors (EGFRi) presents a major obstacle in treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). One of the most exciting new ways to find potential resistance markers involves running functional genetic screens, such as CRISPR, followed by manual triage of significantly enriched genes. This triage process to identify 'high value' hits resulting from the CRISPR screen involves manual curation that requires specialized knowledge and can take even experts several months to comprehensively complete. To find key drivers of resistance faster we build a recommendation system on top of a heterogeneous biomedical knowledge graph integrating pre-clinical, clinical, and literature evidence. The recommender system ranks genes based on trade-offs between diverse types of evidence linking them to potential mechanisms of EGFRi resistance. This unbiased approach identifies 57 resistance markers from >3,000 genes, reducing hit identification time from months to minutes. In addition to reproducing known resistance markers, our method identifies previously unexplored resistance mechanisms that we prospectively validate.

Automated summary

Resistance to EGFR inhibitors is a major challenge in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. The authors developed a recommender system that ranks genes based on diverse types of evidence, identifying potential mechanisms of EGFR inhibitor resistance.