Abstract 2501: PEGylated human recombinant hyaluronidase (PEGPH20) enhances radiotherapy in hyaluronan-rich solid tumors

Abstract

Abstract The accumulation of the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA) in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of solid tumors contributes to increased tumor interstitial fluid pressure IFP), localized edema and reduced intratumoral blood flow. We recently reported that sustained enzymatic depletion of tumor HA with a pegylated recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20 (PEGPH20) decreases tumor IFP and water content, while significantly increasing vascular perfusion within HA-rich prostate PC3 tumors (Thompson et al, 2010). As localized tissue hypoxia reduces the effectiveness of radiation therapy (Baumgartner et al, 1998), we hypothesized that PEGPH20 treatment would reduce tumor hypoxia, thereby radio-sensitizing tumor cells. To evaluate whether PEGPH20 sensitizes HA-rich tumors, radiotherapy resistant human prostate PC3 cells (2×106) were inoculated into the right tibia periosteum of nude mice (NCR nu/nu) and tumor growth monitored with a high resolution 3D ultrasound. When the tumors reached ∼800 mm3 (n ≥ 8/group), mice were staged into 4 treatment groups: (1) vehicle control; (2) mono-radiotherapy at 2.5 Gy, q3d; (3) PEGPH20 monotherapy, 4.5 mg/kg, i.v. q3d; or (4) PEGPH20 plus radiotherapy. To increase intra-tumoral blood flow, PEGPH20 was administrated 3 hours prior to radiation therapy. Histological evaluation of a subset of mice confirmed that HA was completely degraded 3 hours post- PEGPH20 treatment. At study Day 15, tumor growth inhibition (TGI) with radiation alone or PEGPH20 alone was 99.2% (p=0.009) and 71.4% (p=0.08), respectively, relative to vehicle treated animals. PEGPH20 plus radiotherapy inhibited tumor growth by 140.6% (p=0.0002), relative to vehicle treated animals. The mean tumor size of the PEGPH20 plus radiotherapy group was reduced to ∼550 mm3, with 3-out-of-8 partial regressors (i.e. tumor size decrease to 50% or less of tumor staging size). These findings suggest that PEGPH20-mediated HA removal, and subsequent increase in tumoral blood flow, may increase the efficacy of radiation therapy in hyaluronan-rich tumors. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2501. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2501