Effective treatment of triple-negative breast cancer with targeted cytotoxic somatostatin analogue AN-162 (AEZS-124)

Abstract

619 Background: Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) represent a distinct subtype of breast cancer being negative to ER, PR and HER2 and are associated with poor prognosis. Limited systemic treatment options exist for TNBC. TNBC cells express somatostatin receptors (SSTR). Therefore, to investigate preclinical characteristics of TNBC we used a novel targeted cytotoxic somatostatin analogue AN-162 containing doxorubicin (DOX) which binds to the subtypes 2, 3 and 5 of SSTR. Methods: The expression of SSTR in HCC 1806 human TNBC cell line was detected by RT-PCR. Cytotoxic effect of AN-162 in vitro was visualized by ethidium bromide staining fluorescence microscopy. Internalization of AN-162 into HCC 1806 cells was tested by 125Iodide-labeled AN-162 uptake assays and the presence of DOX in the nucleus was measured by fluorescence assays after separating the nucleus from the cytoplasm. For in vivo experiments, HCC 1806 TNBC cells were xenografted subcutaneously into nude mice which were then randomized into four groups receiving AN-162, DOX, an unconjugated mixture of DOX and somatostatin analogue RC-160 at the same equimolar dose of 2.5 μmol/kg (1.45 mg/kg Dox equivalent) i.v. (q7d 4x) and vehicle solution control. Results: HCC 1806 TNBC cell line was positive for the expression of all five SSTR receptor subtypes. Ethidum bromide staining of cells treated with 2.5 μM of AN-162 for 30 min demonstrated cell death after 24h by fluorescence microscopy. Uptake assays with AN-162 showed specific internalization of AN-162 into the cells mediated through the sstrs. After treatment of the cells with 2.5 μM AN-162 for 10 or 30 min, DOX could be detected in the nucleus by fluorescence assays. In vivo, AN-162 significantly (p<0.05) inhibited tumor growth of HCC 1806 xenografts compared to Control, DOX and the unconjugated mixture of DOX+RC-160 from day 14 and the inhibition remained significant until the end of the study on day 35. Conclusions: Our results indicate that treatment with targeted cytotoxic somatostatin analogue AN-162 produces a greater inhibition of tumor growth than DOX alone in somatostatin receptor positive TNBC. Our findings support the concept of targeted chemotherapy based on cytotoxic peptide analogues for the treatment of breast cancer and other cancers. No significant financial relationships to disclose.