Sodium Iodide Symporter (NIS)-Mediated Radiovirotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer

OBJECTIVE. We have previously shown the therapeutic efficacy of an engineered oncolytic measles virus expressing the sodium iodide symporter reporter gene (MV-NIS) in mice with human pancreatic cancer xenografts. The goal of this study was to determine the synergy between MV-NIS-induced oncolysis and NIS-mediated 131I radiotherapy in this tumor model.MATERIALS AND METHODS. Subcutaneous human BxPC-3 pancreatic tumors were injected twice with MV-NIS. Viral infection, NIS expression, and intratumoral iodide uptake were quantitated with 123I micro-SPECT/CT. Mice with MV-NIS-infected tumors were treated with 0, 37, or 74 MBq 131I and monitored for tumor progression and survival. Additional studies were performed with stable NIS-expressing tumors (BxPC-3-NIS) treated with 0, 3.7, 18.5, 37, or 74 MBq of 131I.RESULTS. Mice treated with intratumoral MV-NIS exhibited significant tumor growth delay (p < 0.01) and prolonged survival (p = 0.02) compared with untreated mice. Synergy between MV-NIS-induced oncolysis and...