am-555s and Liver-Neoplasms

Preclinical models have shown that TAC-101 (4-[3,5-bis(trimethylsilyl) benzamide] benzoic acid), an oral synthetic retinoid, has antitumor activity in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We conducted a phase I study in Japanese patients with advanced HCC to examine the pharmacokinetics, recommended dose, safety, and efficacy of TAC-101. The administered dose of TAC-101 was 10 mg/day in four patients (level 1), 20 mg/day in six (level 2), and 30 mg/day in three (level 3). There was no dose-limiting toxicity at level 1. Only one patient each had dose-limiting toxicity at level 2 (grade 2 fatigue, recovery requiring eight or more consecutive days of rest) and at level 3 (grade 3 splenic vein thrombosis). Level 3 (30 mg/day) was considered the maximum tolerated dose and 20 mg/day the recommended dose by a panel of medical experts, placing maximum emphasis on safety. The most frequent adverse events were fatigue, headache, and dermal symptoms such as rash. Pharmacokinetic parameters in Japanese patients with HCC were similar to those in patients in the United States, most of whom were Caucasian. Although no patient had a complete or partial response, the disease control rate was 38.5%. In conclusion, the recommended dose of TAC-101 for patients with HCC is 20 mg/day. TAC-101 had an acceptable toxicity profile, warranting further evaluation in clinical trials.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic Agents; Asian People; Benzoates; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; Humans; Liver Neoplasms; Male; Maximum Tolerated Dose; Middle Aged; Treatment Outcome; Trimethylsilyl Compounds; Young Adult

Preclinical models showed TAC-101 (4-[3,5-bis(trimethylsilyl) benzamide] benzoic acid), an oral synthetic retinoid, has anti-tumor activity in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A phase I/II study was performed in advanced HCC patients (pts).. Thirty-three patients were enrolled. During Phase I, pts received 40 mg daily for 14 days q3 weeks; 2 of 5 patients developed DLT so dose was reduced to 20 mg/day. Twenty-eight patients received 20 mg/day.. No pt had a CR or PR, but 12 of 21 (57%) had SD. Two pts (9.5%) had late PR after discontinuing TAC-101. Median survival (MS) for all 28 pts treated with 20 mg/day was 12.7 months (95% CI 8.8-22.7); MS for 21 evaluable pts was 19.2 months (95% CI 10.4-27.6).. 20 mg of TAC- was well tolerated. Significant disease stabilization (12/21 pts, 57%), 2 late PRs, and prolonged MS (19.2 months) suggest that TAC-101 provides meaningful patient benefit.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Benzoates; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Female; Humans; Liver Neoplasms; Lung Neoplasms; Lymphatic Metastasis; Male; Maximum Tolerated Dose; Middle Aged; Prognosis; Retinoids; Survival Rate; Tissue Distribution; Trimethylsilyl Compounds; Young Adult

TAC-101, 4-[3,5-bis(trimethylsilyl)benzamido] benzoic acid, is a synthetic ligand for retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-alpha. Here, we demonstrate the contribution of TAC-101-induced AP-1 interference to stabilization of tumor growth. TAC-101 induced transcriptional activation of RAR, resulting in marked elevation of RARbeta, a representative retinoid response marker, and it also significantly repressed the transcriptional activity of AP-1 in JHH-7 cells. In contrast to JHH-7, JHH-6 is another RARalpha-expressing human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line with constitutive activation of AP-1, but it is retinoid insensitive and did not respond to the TAC-101-induced RAR signal. TAC-101 did not inhibit AP-1 activity of the JHH-6 cell line, showing that AP-1 interference by TAC-101 must be in parallel with RAR activation. Interleukin-8 (IL-8), one of the AP-1-regulated factors which correlate with a poor prognosis in HCC patients, was found to be overexpressed in JHH-7 cells. TAC-101 reduced IL-8 production without cytotoxicity and inhibited the progression of HCC in the orthotopic mouse model with decreased tumor IL-8 level. These results suggest that downregulation of the extracellular biomarker for AP-1 interference via the induction of retinoid signals will enhance the pharmacological effect of TAC-101 on HCC and it could be useful as a surrogate biomarker of therapeutic efficacy.

Topics: Animals; Benzoates; Biomarkers, Tumor; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Disease Models, Animal; Down-Regulation; Humans; Interleukin-8; Ligands; Liver Neoplasms; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Nude; Receptors, Retinoic Acid; Retinoic Acid Receptor alpha; Transcription Factor AP-1; Trimethylsilyl Compounds

The anti-metastatic effect of 4-[3,5-bis(trimethylsilyl)benzamido]benzoic acid (TAC-101) was investigated using our established intrahepatic metastasis model. Orthotopic implantation of a fragment of CBO140C12 hepatoma into the liver resulted in the formation of a solitary tumor nodule and its intrahepatic metastasis. Daily oral administration of TAC-101 at a dose of 8 mg/kg resulted in a significant inhibition of intrahepatic metastasis, but did not affect the growth of the tumor at the implanted site. The down-regulation of transcriptional anti-activator protein-1 (AP-1) activity by TAC-101 paralleled the inhibition of cell invasion and migration through the repression of expression of the mRNAs for urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) and its receptor (u-PAR). These findings suggest that TAC-101 may improve therapeutic efficacy for liver cancer patients to prevent intrahepatic metastasis.

Topics: Animals; Anticarcinogenic Agents; Base Sequence; Benzoates; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Cell Division; Cell Movement; Disease Models, Animal; DNA Primers; Drug Implants; Liver Neoplasms; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Neoplasm Metastasis; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Transcription Factor AP-1; Trimethylsilyl Compounds; Tumor Cells, Cultured

TAC-101 (4-[3,5-bis(trimethylsilyl)benzamido]benzoic acid) is a novel, synthetic retinoid that is effective against liver metastases of human gastrointestinal cancer cells such as the human stomach carcinoma line AZ-521 in animal models, and is currently in use in phase I cancer trials. However, the mechanism of its antimetastatic action is still poorly understood. Tumor metastasis depends on angiogenesis, and various retinoids have been found to exhibit antiangiogenic activity. Based on these findings we here examined the antiangiogenic effects of TAC-101. Oral administration of TAC-101 (2-8 mg/kg/day) resulted in a drastic suppression of the AZ-521 cell-induced angiogenesis in a mouse dorsal air sac assay system, compared to the vehicle alone. Immunohistochemical analysis with antibody against the endothelial marker CD31 revealed a significant reduction in microvessel density in liver metastases from animals treated with TAC-101 (8 mg/kg p.o.), compared to liver metastases from the untreated control animals. The ability of TAC-101 (8 mg/kg p.o.) to prevent experimental liver metastasis of AZ-521 cells in athymic nude mice was comparable with that of the known angiogenesis inhibitor TNP-470 (30 mg/kg s.c.). TAC-101 also affected angiogenesis in chorioallantoic membranes and some functions of endothelial cells associated with angiogenesis, whereas the retinoid failed to suppress AZ-521 cell proliferation directly. These data suggest that the TAC-101 is an orally active antiangiogenic agent and that this antiangiogenic property may contribute to its efficacy against liver metastasis of human stomach cancer cells.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Benzoates; Cell Division; Cell Movement; Cisplatin; Cyclohexanes; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Endothelium, Vascular; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Liver Neoplasms; Mice; Neovascularization, Pathologic; O-(Chloroacetylcarbamoyl)fumagillol; Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; Sesquiterpenes; Stomach Neoplasms; Trimethylsilyl Compounds; Tumor Cells, Cultured

We demonstrated in this study that inhibition of intra-hepatic growth of colon cancer by TAC-101 is mediated by inhibition of angiogenesis. In vitro experiments showed that TAC-101 inhibited the proliferation of murine hepatic sinusoidal endothelial (HSE) cells induced by coculture with murine colon 26-L5 (L5) cells. HSE cell proliferation was also enhanced by conditioned medium of L5 cells (CM-L5), and this enhancement of proliferation was abrogated by anti-vascular endothelial growth factor antibody. CM-L5 also induced in vitro tube formation of HSE cells on Matri-gel, and this activity of CM-L5 was abrogated by TAC-101 in a concentration-dependent manner. On the other hand, p.o. administration of TAC-101 inhibited tumor-induced angiogenesis in vivo and decreased the weights of L5 tumors in the mouse liver. Reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis using in vivo tumor tissue suggested that repression of vascular endothelial growth factor expression by TAC-101 was associated with the antiangiogenic activity. TAC-101 alone and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)/D,L-leucovorin (LV) significantly inhibited the intrahepatic growth of L5 tumors (P = 0.002 and 0.001, respectively), whereas 5-FU alone did not (P = 0.088). When TAC-101 was administered with 5-FU/LV, marked enhancement of antitumor activity was observed (95% inhibition; P<0.001). This enhanced antitumor effect was also observed in experiments using Co-3 human colon adenocarcinoma. Concurrent treatment with TAC-101 and 5-FU/LV and sequential treatment with 5-FU/LV followed by TAC-101 resulted in significant augmentation of antitumor activity against Co-3 (overall P = 0.007 and 0.015, respectively). These findings indicate that TAC-101 inhibits tumor angiogenesis and suggest that it may be effective against hepatic metastasis of colon cancer.

Topics: Adenocarcinoma; Angiogenesis Inhibitors; Animals; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Benzoates; Cell Division; Colonic Neoplasms; Endothelial Growth Factors; Endothelium, Vascular; Female; Fluorouracil; Humans; Leucovorin; Liver Neoplasms; Lymphokines; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Neoplasm Transplantation; Neovascularization, Pathologic; Trimethylsilyl Compounds; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors

We examined the in vivo anti-tumor activity of the benzoic acid derivative, TAC-101 (4-[3,5-bis(trimethylsilyl)benzamido] benzoic acid), for intrahepatic spread of JHH-7 human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and its mechanism of action. Oral administration of TAC-101 markedly inhibited liver tumor of JHH-7 cells and prolonged the life-span of tumor-bearing mice without affecting the body weight. The life-prolonging effect of TAC-101 was more effective than that of other anti-cancer agents including CDDP, 5-FU, and CPT-11 (T/C (%) of life-span; 181 to 219, 128, 133, and 142%, respectively). In vitro, TAC-101 at the concentration of more than 10 microM showed direct cytotoxicity against JHH-7 cells caused by induction of apoptosis. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) enhanced the invasive ability of JHH-7 cells without affecting the cell viability. Non-cytotoxic concentrations of TAC-101 inhibited the JHH-7 invasion induced by HGF and down-regulated the expression of c-MET protein in a concentration-dependent manner. In summary, these results suggest that TAC-101 would be useful for a new class of therapeutic agents and that it may improve the prognosis of patients with liver-tumors including metastasizing tumor and HCC.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; Apoptosis; Benzoates; Body Weight; Camptothecin; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Fluorouracil; Humans; Irinotecan; Liver Neoplasms; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental; Male; Mice; Mice, Nude; Molecular Structure; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met; Receptors, Retinoic Acid; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; Survival Rate; Trimethylsilyl Compounds; Tumor Cells, Cultured