novel synergistic drug combination of a mitogen-activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase inhibitor with [177Lu]Lu-rhPSMA-10.1 for prostate cancer treatment: Results of a preclinical evaluation.

Foxton C., Cornelissen B., O'Neill E., Waldron B., Pretzmann F., Grønlund RV., Hallund MW., Stevens DJ.

PURPOSE: The prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radiohybrid ligand [177Lu]Lu-rhPSMA-10.1 is a promising next-generation radiopharmaceutical therapy in prostate cancer. This preclinical evaluation comprised an in vitro screen of potential novel synergistic drug combinations with [177Lu]Lu-rhPSMA-10.1, and an in vivo efficacy analysis of the lead drug combination in PSMA-expressing prostate cancer xenografts. METHODS: In total, 177 anticancer drugs were screened in a clonogenic survival assay of 22Rv1 cells which used 5-fold serial dilutions of the test drug (≤ 20 μM) to determine the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50), compared to incubations of the test drug plus [177Lu]Lu-rhPSMA-10.1 (15 MBq) after 10 days. A subsequent focused screen assessed the impact of [177Lu]Lu-rhPSMA-10.1 (0-25 MBq/mL) on drug IC50. Synergy scores were determined using the zero interaction potency (ZIP) reference model (ZIP scores >5 % indicate high synergistic potency) and the multidimensional synergy of combinations (MuSyC) platform (log α >0 indicates synergistic potency). Therapeutic efficacy of the lead drug combination was evaluated in vivo: intravenous [177Lu]Lu-rhPSMA-10.1 (30 MBq, single dose) and oral cobimetinib (0.25 mg/day for 21 days) (alone/in combination) were administered to 22Rv1 tumor-bearing NMRI nude mice (eight mice/group plus untreated controls). Tumor volume was measured twice weekly for 69 days (two-way ANOVA and Tukey's multiple comparisons test: data analyzed until three mice/group remained). KaplanMeier Log-rank survival analyses were performed. RESULTS: In vitro screening identified cobimetinib (a mitogen-activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase inhibitor) as a lead candidate for synergistic combination with [177Lu]Lu-rhPSMA-10.1 across a wide concentration range (ZIP score=13 %). MuSyC analysis suggested synergistic efficacy from enhanced potency of both drugs in the combination (both log α>3). Combination treatment significantly suppressed tumor growth in vivo versus untreated controls (from Day 13-30; p<0.01) and [177Lu]Lu-rhPSMA-10.1 (from Day 17-30; p<0.001). Median survival was significantly longer with combination treatment (49 days) versus untreated controls (23 days; p=0.001) and [177Lu]Lu-rhPSMA-10.1 monotherapy (36 days; p=0.002). No major compound-related toxicity for cobimetinib ± [177Lu]Lu-rhPSMA-10.1 was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of cobimetinib and [177Lu]Lu-rhPSMA-10.1 demonstrated enhanced preclinical therapeutic efficacy versus single agents, supporting clinical investigation of this novel drug combination in prostate cancer.

DOI

10.1016/j.nucmedbio.2025.109042

Type

Journal article

Publication Date

2025-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Volume

146-147

Keywords

Drug combinations, PSMA, Preclinical study, Prostate cancer, Radiopharmaceutical therapy, Male, Animals, Prostatic Neoplasms, Humans, Cell Line, Tumor, Mice, Lutetium, Drug Synergism, Radioisotopes, Protein Kinase Inhibitors, Drug Evaluation, Preclinical, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays, Antigens, Surface

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