lucitanib and Breast-Neoplasms

Developments in breast cancer biology over the last years have permitted deconstructing the molecular profile of the most relevant breast cancer subtypes. This has led to an increase in therapeutic options, including more effective personalized therapy for breast cancer and substantial improvements in patient outcomes. Although currently there are only a few targeted therapies approved for metastatic breast cancer, the discovery of druggable kinase gene alterations has radically changed cancer treatment by providing novel and successfully actionable drug targets. Fibroblast growth factors and their receptors (FGFRs) participate in different physiologic processes and also play an essential role in cancer cell proliferation, survival, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis. This article summarizes the main molecular alterations of FGFRs, as well as the available preclinical and clinical data with FGFR inhibitors in breast cancer, and discusses new opportunities for the clinical development of these agents in patients with breast cancer.

Topics: Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Benzimidazoles; Breast Neoplasms; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Drug Synergism; Female; Fibroblast Growth Factors; Humans; Naphthalenes; Phenylurea Compounds; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Pyrazoles; Pyrimidines; Quinolines; Quinolones; Quinoxalines; Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor; Signal Transduction

The primary objective of this multicentric dose allocation and dose expansion study was to determine the MTD and the DLTs of the lucitanib (a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of the FGFR/VEGFR/PDFGR pathways)/fulvestrant combination.. Postmenopausal women with ER+/HER2- mBC, who have relapsed during or after treatment with fulvestrant, were eligible. The study had a dose allocation part to assess the tolerability of the combination followed by a dose expansion part.. Eighteen patients with ER+, mBC were enrolled; median age was 66 years, 50% had a PS: 0 and all had received previous endocrine treatment. The study was prematurely terminated after 18 patients (15 in part 1 and 3 in part 2) based on preclinical experiments that failed to confirm the hypothesis that addition of lucitanib would reverse sensitivity to endocrine treatments. Based on data of global lucitanib development, it was decided to stop the dose allocation at 12.5 mg and to start the dose expansion part at 10 mg/day. The most common grade ≥ 3 toxicities (> 10% of patients) were hypertension (78%) and asthenia (22%). All patients required at ≥ 1 interruption, 13 patients (72%) required ≥ 1 dose reduction. Three patients (72%) withdrew from the study for AEs (at 10 mg). Three patients achieved a confirmed PR (10 mg n = 1; 12.5 mg n = 2).. Although the combination is feasible it requires close monitoring of the patients for the management of adverse events. Further investigation is required to better understand the potential role of FGFR inhibition in reversing resistance to endocrine treatment.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Aged; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Breast Neoplasms; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; Fulvestrant; Humans; Maximum Tolerated Dose; Middle Aged; Naphthalenes; Neoplasm Metastasis; Postmenopause; Quinolines; Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1; Receptors, Estrogen

Topics: Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; Antigens, Neoplasm; Antineoplastic Agents; Breast Neoplasms; Circulating Tumor DNA; Female; Glioblastoma; Humans; Immunotherapy; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Multiple Myeloma; Naphthalenes; Quinolines

Using an ORF kinome screen in MCF-7 cells treated with the CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib plus fulvestrant, we identified FGFR1 as a mechanism of drug resistance. FGFR1-amplified/ER+ breast cancer cells and MCF-7 cells transduced with FGFR1 were resistant to fulvestrant ± ribociclib or palbociclib. This resistance was abrogated by treatment with the FGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) lucitanib. Addition of the FGFR TKI erdafitinib to palbociclib/fulvestrant induced complete responses of FGFR1-amplified/ER+ patient-derived-xenografts. Next generation sequencing of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in 34 patients after progression on CDK4/6 inhibitors identified FGFR1/2 amplification or activating mutations in 14/34 (41%) post-progression specimens. Finally, ctDNA from patients enrolled in MONALEESA-2, the registration trial of ribociclib, showed that patients with FGFR1 amplification exhibited a shorter progression-free survival compared to patients with wild type FGFR1. Thus, we propose breast cancers with FGFR pathway alterations should be considered for trials using combinations of ER, CDK4/6 and FGFR antagonists.

Topics: Aminopyridines; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Breast Neoplasms; Circulating Tumor DNA; Cyclin D1; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 6; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Female; Fulvestrant; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Humans; MCF-7 Cells; Mice; Mutation; Naphthalenes; Piperazines; Progression-Free Survival; Proportional Hazards Models; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Purines; Pyrazoles; Pyridines; Quinolines; Quinoxalines; Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1; Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 2; Receptors, Estrogen; Signal Transduction; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

FGFR1 amplification has been found in 15% of patients with breast cancer and has been postulated as a promising marker to predict response against FGFR inhibitors. However, early phase clinical trials of selective FGFR inhibitors demonstrated only limited efficacy in FGFR1-amplified breast cancer patients. We found that BGJ398, an FGFR inhibitor, effectively inhibited phosphorylation of FGFR1 and MEK/ERK signaling in FGFR1-amplified breast cancer without affecting tumor cell proliferation. However, FGFR1 knockout inhibited tumor angiogenesis in vivo. We unraveled that FGFR1 regulates the secretion of the proangiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in a MAPK-dependent manner. We further found that FGF-FGFR1 signaling induces an autocrine activation of VEGF-VEGFR1 pathway that again amplifies VEGF secretion via VEGF-VEGFR1-AKT signaling. Targeting both VEGFR1 and FGFR1 resulted in synergistic anti-angiogenic treatment effects in vivo. We thus postulate synergistic treatment effects in FGFR1/VEGFR1-positive breast cancer patients by dual targeting of FGFR and VEGFR.

Topics: Angiogenesis Inhibitors; Animals; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Breast Neoplasms; Cell Line, Tumor; Drug Synergism; Female; Heterografts; Humans; Mice; Mice, Inbred NOD; Naphthalenes; Neovascularization, Pathologic; Phenylurea Compounds; Piperidines; Pyrimidines; Quinazolines; Quinolines; Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1