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Patients with EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have significantly benefited from the use of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). However, long-term efficacy of these therapies is limited due to de novo resistance (~30%) as well as acquired resistance. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition transcription factors (EMT-TFs), have been identified as drivers of EMT-mediated resistance to EGFR TKIs, however, strategies to target EMT-TFs are lacking. As the third generation EGFR TKI, osimertinib, has now been adopted in the first-line setting, the frequency of T790M mutations will significantly decrease in the acquired resistance setting. Previously less common mechanisms of acquired resistance to first generation EGFR TKIs including EMT are now being observed at an increased frequency after osimertinib. Importantly, there are no other FDA approved targeted therapies after progression on osimertinib. Here, we investigated a novel strategy to overcome EGFR TKI resistance through targeting the EMT-TF, TWIST1, in EGFR-mutant NSCLC. We demonstrated that genetic silencing of TWIST1 or treatment with the TWIST1 inhibitor, harmine, resulted in growth inhibition and apoptosis in EGFR-mutant NSCLC. TWIST1 overexpression resulted in erlotinib and osimertinib resistance in EGFR-mutant NSCLC cells. Conversely, genetic and pharmacological inhibition of TWIST1 in EGFR TKI-resistant EGFR-mutant cells increased sensitivity to EGFR TKIs. TWIST1-mediated EGFR TKI resistance was due in part to TWIST1 suppression of transcription of the pro-apoptotic BH3-only gene, BCL2L11 (BIM), by directly binding to BCL2L11 intronic regions and promoter. As such, pan-BCL2 inhibitor treatment overcame TWIST1-mediated EGFR TKI resistance and were more effective in the setting of TWIST1 overexpression. Finally, in a mouse model of autochthonous EGFR-mutant lung cancer, Twist1 overexpression resulted in erlotinib resistance and suppression of erlotinib-induced apoptosis. These studies establish TWIST1 as a driver of resistance to EGFR TKIs and provide rationale for use of TWIST1 inhibitors or BCL2 inhibitors as means to overcome EMT-mediated resistance to EGFR TKIs.

Therapies for liver cancer particularly those including radiation are still inadequate. Inhibiting the stress response machinery is an appealing anti-cancer and radiosensitizing therapeutic strategy. Heat-shock-protein-90 (HSP90) is a molecular chaperone that is a prominent effector of the stress response machinery and is overexpressed in liver cancer cells. HSP90 client proteins include critical components of pathways implicated in liver cancer cell survival and radioresistance. The effects of a novel non-geldanamycin HSP90 inhibitor, ganetespib, combined with radiation were examined on 3 liver cancer cell lines, Hep3b, HepG2 and HUH7, using in vitro assays for clonogenic survival, apoptosis, cell cycle distribution, γH2AX foci kinetics and client protein expression in pathways important for liver cancer survival and radioresistance. We then evaluated tumor growth delay and effects of the combined ganetespib-radiation treatment on tumor cell proliferation in a HepG2 hind-flank tumor graft model. Nanomolar levels of ganetespib alone exhibited liver cancer cell anti-cancer activity in vitro as shown by decreased clonogenic survival that was associated with increased apoptotic cell death, prominent G2-M arrest and marked changes in PI3K/AKT/mTOR and RAS/MAPK client protein activity. Ganetespib caused a supra-additive radiosensitization in all liver cancer cell lines at low nanomolar doses with enhancement ratios between 1.33–1.78. These results were confirmed in vivo, where the ganetespib-radiation combination therapy produced supra-additive tumor growth delay compared with either therapy by itself in HepG2 tumor grafts. Our data suggest that combined ganetespib-radiation therapy exhibits promising activity against liver cancer cells, which should be investigated in clinical studies.