1. Combinations of Bevacizumab and Erlotinib Show Activity in Colorectal Cancer Independent of RAS Status
- Author
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Christophe Tournigand, Ariel Savina, Aimery de Gramont, Anaïs Bouygues, Benoist Chibaudel, Nathalie Ferrand, Michèle Sabbah, Paul Mésange, Alexandre E. Escargueil, Annette K. Larsen, Thierry André, Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine (CR Saint-Antoine), Sorbonne Université (SU)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-CHU Saint-Antoine [AP-HP], Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Sorbonne Université (SU), Institut ROCHE [Boulogne-Billancourt], Roche S.A.S, Service d'Oncologie Médicale [Institut Hospitalier Franco-Britannique], Division of Medical Oncology - Institut Hospitalier Franco-Britannique, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Hôpital Henri Mondor-Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 (UPEC UP12), Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine (CRSA), and Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Sorbonne Université (SU)
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0301 basic medicine ,Cancer Research ,Bevacizumab ,medicine.drug_class ,Colorectal cancer ,[SDV.CAN]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Cancer ,Monoclonal antibody ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,medicine ,neoplasms ,Cetuximab ,business.industry ,Cancer ,medicine.disease ,respiratory tract diseases ,3. Good health ,030104 developmental biology ,Oncology ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,[SDV.SP.PHARMA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Pharmaceutical sciences/Pharmacology ,Cancer research ,Immunohistochemistry ,Erlotinib ,business ,Tyrosine kinase ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Purpose: There is extensive cross-talk between VEGF- and EGFR-pathway signaling in colorectal cancer. However, combinations of VEGF- and EGFR-targeted monoclonal antibodies (mAb) show disappointing activity, in particular for patients with mutant RAS. Previous results show that tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) can be active in colorectal cancer models resistant to mAbs. This prompted us to examine whether the activity of bevacizumab can be increased by combination with erlotinib. Experimental Design: The antitumor activity of bevacizumab, erlotinib, and their combination was determined in colorectal cancer models with different RAS status and bevacizumab sensitivity. EGFR/VEGF pathway activation was characterized by immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and ELISA assays. The influence of cetuximab and erlotinib on EGF-mediated migration and the EGFR–EGF ligand feedback loop was established in colorectal cancer cell lines with different RAS status. Results: The addition of erlotinib increased bevacizumab activity in all models independent of RAS status. Bevacizumab exposure was accompanied by marked EGFR activation in tumor cells as well as in tumor-associated endothelial cells (TECs) and resulted in strong accumulation of intracellular EGFR, which could be attenuated by erlotinib. In cellular models, erlotinib was able to attenuate EGF-mediated functions in all cell lines independent of RAS status while cetuximab only showed activity in RAS wild-type cells. Conclusions: These results should provide a molecular framework to better understand the increased activity of the bevacizumab–erlotinib combination, compared with bevacizumab alone, in the GERCOR DREAM phase III clinical trial. Differential activity of mAbs and TKIs targeting the same signaling pathway is likely applicable for other tumor types. Clin Cancer Res; 24(11); 2548–58. ©2018 AACR.
- Published
- 2018
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