Molecular Targeting and Treatment of an Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor–Positive Glioma Using Boronated Cetuximab

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the anti–epidermal growth factor monoclonal antibody (mAb) cetuximab (IMC-C225) as a delivery agent for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) of a human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene-transfected rat glioma, designated as F98EGFR. Experimental Design: A heavily boronated polyamidoamine dendrimer was chemically linked to cetuximab by means of the heterobifunctional reagents N-succinimidyl 3-(2-pyridyldithio)-propionate and N-(k-maleimido undecanoic acid)-hydrazide. The bioconjugate, designated as BD-C225, was specifically taken up by F98EGFR glioma cells in vitro compared with receptor-negative F98 wild-type cells (41.8 versus 9.1 μg/g). For in vivo biodistribution studies, F98EGFR cells were implanted stereotactically into the brains of Fischer rats, and 14 days later, BD-C225 was given intracerebrally by either convection enhanced delivery (CED) or direct intratumoral (i.t.) injection. Results: The amount of boron retained by F98EGFR gliomas 24 h following CED or i.t. injection was 77.2 and 50.8 μg/g, respectively, with normal brain and blood boron values Conclusions: The survival data obtained with BD-C225 are comparable with those recently reported by us using boronated mAb L8A4 as the delivery agent. This mAb recognizes the mutant receptor, EGFRvIII. Taken together, these data convincingly show the therapeutic efficacy of molecular targeting of EGFR using a boronated mAb either alone or in combination with BPA and provide a platform for the future development of combinations of high and low molecular weight delivery agents for BNCT of brain tumors.