Abstract A44: SHP2 inhibition overcomes RTK-mediated pathway reactivation in KRAS-mutant tumors treated with MEK inhibitors

FGFR1 was recently shown to be activated as part of a compensatory response to prolonged treatment with MEK inhibitor trametinib in several KRAS-mutant lung and pancreatic cancer cell lines. We hypothesize that other receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are also feedback activated in this context. Herein, we profile a large panel of KRAS-mutant cancer cell lines for the contribution of RTKs to the feedback activation of phospho-MEK following MEK inhibition, using a SHP2 inhibitor (SHP099) that blocks RAS activation mediated by multiple RTKs. We find that RTK-driven feedback activation widely exists in KRAS mutant cancer cells and involves several RTKs including EGFR, FGFR, and MET. We further demonstrate this pathway feedback activation is mediated through mutant KRAS. Finally, SHP099 and MEK inhibitors exhibit combination benefits inhibiting KRAS mutant cancer cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. These findings provide a rationale for exploration of combining SHP2 and MAPK pathway inhibitors for treating KRAS-mutant cancers in the clinic. Citation Format: Hengyu Lu, Chen Liu, Roberto Velazquez, Hongyun Wang, Lukas M. Dunkl, Malika Kazic-Legueux, Anne Haberkorn, Eric Billy, Eusebio Manchado, Saskia M. Brachmann, Susan Moody, Jeffrey A. Engelman, Peter S. Hammerman, Giordano Caponigro, Morvarid Mohseni, Huai-Xiang Hao. SHP2 inhibition overcomes RTK-mediated pathway reactivation in KRAS-mutant tumors treated with MEK inhibitors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Targeting RAS-Driven Cancers; 2018 Dec 9-12; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2020;18(5_Suppl):Abstract nr A44.