Optimizing the sequence of anti-EGFR targeted therapy in EGFR-mutant lung cancer
Menée sur des lignées cellulaires de cancer du poumon présentant un gène EGFR muté, ainsi qu'à l'aide de xénogreffes, cette étude met en évidence des mécanismes rendant compte de l'effet de diverses thérapies ciblées anti EGFR sur l'évolution tumorale, puis suggère un traitement séquentiel adapté
Metastatic EGFR-mutant lung cancers are sensitive to the first- and second- generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), gefitinib, erlotinib, and afatinib, but resistance develops. Acquired resistance (AR) to gefitinib or erlotinib occurs most commonly (>50%) via the emergence of a second-site EGFR mutation, T790M. Two strategies to overcome T790M-mediated resistance are dual inhibition of EGFR with afatinib plus the anti-EGFR antibody, cetuximab (A+C), or mutant-specific EGFR inhibition with AZD9291. A+C and AZD9291 are now also being tested as first-line therapies, but whether these therapies will extend progression-free survival or induce more aggressive forms of resistance in this setting remains unknown. We modeled resistance to multiple generations of anti-EGFR therapies preclinically in order to understand the effects of sequential treatment with anti-EGFR agents on drug resistance and determine the optimal order of treatment. Using a panel of erlotinib/afatinib-resistant cells including a novel patient-derived cell line (VP-2), we found that AZD9291 was more potent than A+C at inhibiting cell growth and EGFR signaling in this setting. 4 of 4 xenograft-derived A+C-resistant cell lines displayed in vitro and in vivo sensitivity to AZD9291, but 4 of 4 AZD9291-resistant cell lines demonstrated cross-resistance to A+C. Addition of cetuximab to AZD9291 did not confer additive benefit in any preclinical disease setting. This work, emphasizing a mechanistic understanding of the effects of therapies on tumor evolution, provides a framework for future clinical trials testing different treatment sequences. This paradigm is applicable to other tumor types in which multiple generations of inhibitors are now available.
http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2014/11/26/1535-7163.MCT-14-0723.abstract