RESUMO
Glioblastomas (GBM) are devastating tumors in which there has been little clinical improvement in the last decades. New molecularly directed therapies are under development. EGFR is one of the most promising targets, as this receptor is mutated and/or overexpressed in nearly half of the GBMs. However, the results obtained with first-generation tyrosine-kinase inhibitors have been disappointing with no clear predictive markers of tumor response. Here, we have tested the antitumoral efficacy of a second-generation inhibitor, dacomitinib (PF299804, Pfizer), that binds in an irreversible way to the receptor. Our results confirm that dacomitinib has an effect on cell viability, self-renewal, and proliferation in EGFR-amplified ± EGFRvIII GBM cells. Moreover, systemic administration of dacomitinib strongly impaired the in vivo tumor growth rate of these EGFR-amplified cell lines, with a decrease in the expression of stem cell-related markers. However, continuous administration of the compound was required to maintain the antitumor effect. The data presented here confirm that dacomitinib clearly affects receptor signaling in vivo and that its strong antitumoral effect is independent of the presence of mutant receptor isoforms although it could be affected by the PTEN status (as it is less effective in a PTEN-deleted GBM line). Dacomitinib is being tested in second line for EGFR-amplified GBMs. We hope that our results could help to select retrospectively molecular determinants of this response and to implement future trials with dacomitinib (alone or in combination with other inhibitors) in newly diagnosed GBMs.
Assuntos
Receptores ErbB/antagonistas & inibidores , Glioblastoma/tratamento farmacológico , Quinazolinonas/farmacologia , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de Xenoenxerto , Animais , Western Blotting , Sobrevivência Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , Ensaios de Seleção de Medicamentos Antitumorais , Receptores ErbB/genética , Receptores ErbB/metabolismo , Amplificação de Genes , Glioblastoma/genética , Glioblastoma/metabolismo , Humanos , Camundongos Nus , Fosforilação/efeitos dos fármacos , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase Reversa , Transdução de Sinais/efeitos dos fármacos , Análise de Sobrevida , Fatores de Tempo , Carga Tumoral/efeitos dos fármacos , Carga Tumoral/genética , Células Tumorais CultivadasRESUMO
Recently, the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) has been found to be altered in several solid and hematologic tumors. Novel drugs targeting this tyrosine kinase receptor are under development, and early clinical trials are showing promising activity in non-small cell lung cancer patients with ALK+ tumors. Here, we review the structure and function of the ALK receptor, the mechanisms associated with its deregulation in cancer, methods for ALK detection in tumor samples, its potential as a new marker for candidate patient selection for tailored therapy, and novel drugs under development that target ALK.