A pilot study for the early assessment of the effects of BMS-754807 plus gefitinib in an H292 tumor model by [(18)F]fluorothymidine-positron emission tomography.

BMS-754807 is an inhibitor of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) and insulin receptor that also represses aurora kinase. Cancers that express high levels of IGF-1/IGF-1R are sensitive to BMS-754807; however, it shows limited efficacy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in which IGF-1R-driven signals may not be dominant factors in cell proliferation. In this study, we investigated whether a combination of BMS-754807 and gefitinib would be synergistic in H292 NSCLC and whether [18F]fluorothymidine ([18F]FLT)-positron emission tomography (PET) could predict the effects. We found that BMS-754807 synergized with gefitinib in reducing cell viability (combination index = 0.38) and Akt phosphorylation, and increasing the subG1 fraction in H292 cells. BMS-754807 alone and in combination with gefitinib increased the cells in G2M phase and polyploid cells and decreased the phosphorylation of IGF-1R and histone H3. The inhibition of tumor growth by gefitinib was increased by BMS-754807 (%T/C, 17.5 % vs. 58.0 % for gefitinib alone and combined treatment, respectively), although BMS-754807 alone had little effect. The standardized uptake value by [18F]FLT-PET were increased in vehicle-treated mice by 73 %, minimally changed in gefitinib- or BMS-754807-treated mice, whereas decreased in co-treated mice by −48.8 % between day 0 and day 3. The combination therapy with BMS-754807 and gefitinib might be a more effective anticancer strategy than BMS-754807 alone in tumors that are less IGF-1R-dependent and that [18F]FLT-PET can be used to assess early therapeutic responses.