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The Oncologist Jan 2021Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) fusions, which activate ErbB signaling, are rare oncogenic drivers in multiple tumor types. Afatinib is a pan-ErbB family inhibitor that may be an...
BACKGROUND
Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) fusions, which activate ErbB signaling, are rare oncogenic drivers in multiple tumor types. Afatinib is a pan-ErbB family inhibitor that may be an effective treatment for NRG1 fusion-driven tumors.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
This report summarizes pertinent details, including best tumor response to treatment, for six patients with metastatic NRG1 fusion-positive tumors treated with afatinib.
RESULTS
The six cases include four female and two male patients who ranged in age from 34 to 69 years. Five of the cases are patients with lung cancer, including two patients with invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma and three patients with nonmucinous adenocarcinoma. The sixth case is a patient with colorectal cancer. NRG1 fusion partners for the patients with lung cancer were either CD74 or SDC4. The patient with colorectal cancer harbored a novel POMK-NRG1 fusion and a KRAS mutation. Two patients received afatinib as first- or second-line therapy, three patients received the drug as third- to fifth-line therapy, and one patient received afatinib as fifteenth-line therapy. Best response with afatinib was stable disease in two patients (duration up to 16 months when combined with local therapies) and partial response (PR) of >18 months in three patients, including one with ongoing PR after 27 months. The remaining patient had a PR of 5 months with afatinib 40 mg/day, then another 6 months after an increase to 50 mg/day.
CONCLUSION
This report reviews previously published metastatic NRG1 fusion-positive tumors treated with afatinib and summarizes six previously unpublished cases. The latter include several with a prolonged response to treatment (>18 months), as well as the first report of efficacy in NRG1 fusion-positive colorectal cancer. This adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that afatinib can be effective in patients with NRG1 fusion-positive tumors.
KEY POINTS
NRG1 fusions activate ErbB signaling and have been identified as oncogenic drivers in multiple solid tumor types. Afatinib is a pan-ErbB family inhibitor authorized for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer that may be effective in NRG1 fusion-driven tumors. This report summarizes six previously unpublished cases of NRG1 fusion-driven cancers treated with afatinib, including five with metastatic lung cancer and one with metastatic colorectal cancer. Several patients showed a prolonged response of >18 months with afatinib treatment. This case series adds to the evidence suggesting a potential role for afatinib in this area of unmet medical need.
Topics: Adult; Afatinib; Aged; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung; Female; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Middle Aged; Mutation; Neuregulin-1; Oncogene Proteins, Fusion; Protein Kinase Inhibitors
PubMed: 32852072
DOI: 10.1634/theoncologist.2020-0379 -
Journal of Investigative Medicine : the... Jun 2023Owing to the high rates of relapse and migration, ovarian cancer (OC) has been recognized as the most lethal gynecological malignancy worldwide. The activity of the...
Owing to the high rates of relapse and migration, ovarian cancer (OC) has been recognized as the most lethal gynecological malignancy worldwide. The activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway is frequently associated with OC cell proliferation and migration. Despite this knowledge, inhibition of EGFR signaling in OC patients failed to achieve satisfactory therapeutic effects. In this study, we identified that bruceine D (BD) and EGFR inhibitor, afatinib, combination resulted in synergistic anti-OC effects. The results indicated that compared with one of both drugs alone, the combination of BD and afatinib slowed the DNA replication rate, inhibition of cell viability, and proliferation and clone formation. This resulted in cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis. In addition, the combination of BD and afatinib possessed a stronger ability to inhibit the OC cell adhesion and migration than treatment with BD or afatinib alone. Mechanistically, the combined treatment triggered intense DNA damage, suppressed DNA damage repair, and enhanced the inhibition of the EGFR pathway. These results demonstrated that compared with each pathway inhibition, combined blocking of both DNA damage repair and the EGFR pathway appears to more effective against OC treatment. The results support the potential of BD and afatinib combination as a therapeutic strategy for OC patients.
Topics: Humans; Female; Afatinib; ErbB Receptors; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Cell Proliferation; Ovarian Neoplasms; DNA Damage; Cell Line, Tumor; Lung Neoplasms
PubMed: 36859802
DOI: 10.1177/10815589231158043 -
Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry :... 2018The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor afatinib is primarily utilized for the treatment of non-small cell lung carcinoma. The drug is at...
BACKGROUND/AIMS
The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor afatinib is primarily utilized for the treatment of non-small cell lung carcinoma. The drug is at least partially effective by triggering suicidal tumor cell death. Side effects of afatinib treatment include anemia. At least in theory, afatinib induced anemia could be secondary to stimulation of suicidal erythrocyte death or eryptosis, characterized by cell shrinkage and cell membrane scrambling with phosphatidylserine translocation to the erythrocyte surface. Signaling potentially stimulating eryptosis include increase of cytosolic Ca2+ activity ([Ca2+]i), induction of oxidative stress, and increase of ceramide abundance. The present study explored, whether afatinib induces eryptosis and, if so, whether its effect involves Ca2+ entry, oxidative stress, and/or ceramide.
METHODS
Flow cytometry was employed to quantify phosphatidylserine exposure at the cell surface from annexin-V-binding, cell volume from forward scatter, [Ca2+]i from Fluo3-fluorescence, reactive oxygen species (ROS) abundance from DCFDA dependent fluorescence, and ceramide abundance utilizing specific antibodies.
RESULTS
A 48 hours exposure of human erythrocytes to afatinib (≥ 4 µg/ml) significantly increased the percentage of annexin-V-binding cells and significantly decreased forward scatter. Afatinib significantly increased Fluo3-fluorescence, DCFDA fluorescence and ceramide abundance. The effect of afatinib on annexin-V-binding and forward scatter was significantly blunted by removal of extracellular Ca2+.
CONCLUSIONS
Afatinib triggers phospholipid scrambling of the erythrocyte cell membrane, an effect at least in part due to Ca2+ entry, oxidative stress, and ceramide.
Topics: Afatinib; Anemia; Calcium Signaling; Eryptosis; Erythrocyte Membrane; Humans; Phospholipids; Quinazolines
PubMed: 29913444
DOI: 10.1159/000490221 -
Analytical Biochemistry May 2023Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) are commonly used to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A rapid and reliable...
Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) are commonly used to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A rapid and reliable method for measuring plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of EGFR-TKIs is needed for therapeutic drug monitoring. By using UHPLC‒MS/MS with multiple reaction monitoring mode, we developed a method for rapidly determining the plasma and CSF concentrations of gefitinib, erlotinib, afatinib, and osimertinib. Protein precipitation was employed to remove protein interference for plasma and CSF matrix. The LC‒MS/MS assay was validated to be satisfactory in terms of linearity, precision, and accuracy. This method was successfully applied to measure plasma (n = 44) and CSF (n = 6) concentrations of EGFR-TKIs in NSCLC patients. The chromatographic separation was achieved by a Hypersil Gold aQ column within 3 min. The median plasma concentrations were 325.76, 1981.50, 42.62, 40.27, and 340.92 ng/ml for gefitinib erlotinib, afatinib 30 mg/day, afatinib 40 mg/day, and osimertinib, respectively. The CSF penetration rates were 2.15% for the patients receiving erlotinib therapy, 0.59% for afatinib, 0.08-1.12% for osimertinib 80 mg/day, and 2.18% for those receiving osimertinib 160 mg/day. This assay helps to predict the effectiveness and toxicities of EGFR-TKIs in the pursuit of precision medicine for lung cancer patients.
Topics: Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung; Afatinib; Erlotinib Hydrochloride; Gefitinib; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Chromatography, Liquid; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; ErbB Receptors; Mutation
PubMed: 36931580
DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2023.115115 -
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology Jul 2024Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas are mature lymphoid neoplasias resulting from the malignant transformation of skin-resident T-cells. A distinctive clinical feature of...
Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas are mature lymphoid neoplasias resulting from the malignant transformation of skin-resident T-cells. A distinctive clinical feature of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas is their sensitivity to treatment with histone deacetylase inhibitors. However, responses to histone deacetylase inhibitor therapy are universally transient and noncurative, highlighting the need for effective and durable drug combinations. In this study, we demonstrate that the combination of romidepsin, a selective class I histone deacetylase inhibitor, with afatinib, an EGFR family inhibitor, induces strongly synergistic antitumor effects in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma models in vitro and in vivo through abrogation of Jak-signal transducer and activator of transcription signaling. These results support a previously unrecognized potential role for histone deacetylase inhibitor plus afatinib combination in the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas.
Topics: Depsipeptides; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous; Humans; Animals; Mice; Afatinib; Signal Transduction; Drug Synergism; Skin Neoplasms; Cell Line, Tumor; Janus Kinases; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors
PubMed: 38219917
DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2023.12.010 -
Cell Death & Disease Oct 2020Current treatment modalities for disseminated cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) improve survival, however disease progression commonly ensues. In a previous study we...
Current treatment modalities for disseminated cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) improve survival, however disease progression commonly ensues. In a previous study we identified afatinib and crizotinib in combination as a novel potential therapy for CMM independent of BRAF/NRAS mutation status. Herein, we elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the combination treatment effect to find biomarkers and novel targets for development of therapy that may provide clinical benefit by proteomic analysis of CMM cell lines and xenografts using mass spectrometry based analysis and reverse phase protein array. Identified candidates were validated using immunoblotting or immunofluorescence. Our analysis revealed that mTOR/Insulin signaling pathways were significantly decreased by the afatinib and crizotinib combination treatment. Both in vitro and in vivo analyses showed that the combination treatment downregulated pRPS6KB1 and pRPS6, downstream of mTOR signaling, and IRS-1 in the insulin signaling pathway, specifically ablating IRS-1 nuclear signal. Silencing of RPS6 and IRS-1 alone had a similar effect on cell death, which was further induced when IRS-1 and RPS6 were concomitantly silenced in the CMM cell lines. Silencing of IRS-1 and RPS6 resulted in reduced sensitivity towards combination treatment. Additionally, we found that IRS-1 and RPS6KB1 expression levels were increased in advanced stages of CMM clinical samples. We could demonstrate that induced resistance towards combination treatment was reversible by a drug holiday. CD171/L1CAM, mTOR and PI3K-p85 were induced in the combination resistant cells whereas AXL and EPHA2, previously identified mediators of resistance to MAPK inhibitor therapy in CMM were downregulated. We also found that CD171/L1CAM and mTOR were increased at progression in tumor biopsies from two matched cases of patients receiving targeted therapy with BRAFi. Overall, these findings provide insights into the molecular mechanisms behind the afatinib and crizotinib combination treatment effect and leverages a platform for discovering novel biomarkers and therapy regimes for CMM treatment.
Topics: Afatinib; Antineoplastic Agents; Crizotinib; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Humans; Melanoma; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf; Signal Transduction; Skin Neoplasms; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; Melanoma, Cutaneous Malignant
PubMed: 33082316
DOI: 10.1038/s41419-020-03097-2 -
International Journal of Radiation... 2021Radioresistance is highly correlated with radiotherapy failure in clinical cancer treatment. In the current study, we sought to examine the efficacy of Celecoxib and...
PURPOSE
Radioresistance is highly correlated with radiotherapy failure in clinical cancer treatment. In the current study, we sought to examine the efficacy of Celecoxib and Afatinib co-treatment as radiosensitizers in the management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) A549 cells.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Generally, A549 cells were cultured with the treatment of Celecoxib and/or Afatinib for 24 h. Then, the cells were exposed to irradiation at 2 Gy/min for 1 min. After the end of treatment, cell viability, clonogenic survival, apoptosis and Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) Elisa assays were performed. Transcriptional levels of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) affected by Celecoxib and/or Afatinib were measured by RT-qPCR. Posttranscriptional level of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-related gene was measured by Western blotting analysis.
RESULTS
Here, we, for the first time, reported that the co-treatment of Celecoxib and Afatinib regulates the resistance of NSCLC A549 cells to radiation. The co-treatment of Celecoxib and Afatinib sensitized radiotherapy through the radiation-induced loss of cell viability and colony formation, as well as apoptosis. Mechanistically, Celecoxib and Afatinib-treated cells showed the inhibition of COX-2 and EGFR expression, which may be responsible for the A549 cells' increased resistance to radiation.
CONCLUSION
Our results suggested that Celecoxib and Afatinib regulate cell sensitivity to apoptosis, and thus modulate the resistance of NSCLC to radiation.
Topics: A549 Cells; Afatinib; Apoptosis; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung; Celecoxib; Cell Survival; Cyclooxygenase 2; Dinoprostone; Drug Synergism; ErbB Receptors; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Radiation Tolerance
PubMed: 33164600
DOI: 10.1080/09553002.2021.1846817 -
Cancer Research and Treatment Oct 2023This study aimed to report the final analysis of time-on-treatment (TOT) and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced-stage epidermal growth factor receptor...
PURPOSE
This study aimed to report the final analysis of time-on-treatment (TOT) and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced-stage epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)+ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received sequential afatinib and osimertinib and to compare the outcomes with other second-line regimens (comparator group).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
In this updated report, the existing medical records were reviewed and rechecked. TOT and OS were updated and analyzed according to clinical features using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. TOT and OS were compared with those of the comparator group, in which most patients received pemetrexed-based treatments. A multivariable Cox proportional hazard model was used to evaluate features that could affect survival outcomes.
RESULTS
The median observation time was 31.0 months. The follow-up period was extended to 20 months. A total of 401 patients who received first-line afatinib were analyzed (166 with T790M+ and second-line osimertinib, and 235 with unproven T790M and other second-line agents). Median TOTs on afatinib and osimertinib were 15.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.0 to 16.1) and 11.9 months (95% CI, 8.9 to 14.6), respectively. The median OS in the osimertinib group was 54.3 months (95% CI, 46.7 to 61.9), much longer than that in the comparator group. In patients who received osimertinib, the OS was longest with Del19+ (median, 59.1; 95% CI, 48.7 to 69.5).
CONCLUSION
This is one of the largest real-world studies reporting the encouraging activity of sequential afatinib and osimertinib in Asian patients with EGFR+ NSCLC who acquired the T790M mutation, particularly Del19+.
Topics: Humans; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung; Afatinib; Lung Neoplasms; ErbB Receptors; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Mutation
PubMed: 37218139
DOI: 10.4143/crt.2023.493 -
Journal of the Formosan Medical... Dec 2022The prognosis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is worse and a major proportion of TNBC expresses epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Afatinib can inhibit...
BACKGROUND
The prognosis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is worse and a major proportion of TNBC expresses epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Afatinib can inhibit EGFR signal pathway; however, its treatment effect for TNBC is unknown. Thus, we aimed to assess the efficacy and biomarkers of afatinib in combination with paclitaxel in a neoadjuvant setting.
METHODS
Patients with stage II to III TNBC were enrolled. They received 40 mg of afatinib daily for 14 days, followed by daily afatinib and weekly paclitaxel (80 mg/m) every 21 days for four to six cycles. To explore the mechanisms of responsiveness and non-responsiveness, 409 cancer-associated genes were sequenced.
RESULTS
Twenty-one patients were enrolled and one patient achieved a complete clinical response; however, a 2 mm residual tumor was noted in the surgical specimen. Overall, 33.0% patients were responders. Fifteen patients received molecular testing. No activated mutation of EGFR or Her2 were found. Activated PI3K or JAK2 pathway were trended to associate with non-responder (p = 0.057). Mutation of homologous recombination (HR) genes were correlated with non-responsiveness (p = 0.005). Seven patients did not have altered PI3K, JAK2 or HR pathway; six (85.7%) of them were responder. Patients with the amplified DAXX gene was associated with a favorable trend of response (p = 0.109).
CONCLUSION
Adding afatinib to neoadjuvant paclitaxel generated a modest effect in TNBC. Exploratory molecular analysis suggested that activated PI3K, JAK2 pathways and mutation of HR genes were associated with therapeutic non-responsiveness, and amplification of DAXX genes was associated with responsiveness to afatinib in combination with paclitaxel.
Topics: Humans; Female; Neoadjuvant Therapy; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms; Paclitaxel; Afatinib; Breast Neoplasms; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 35752529
DOI: 10.1016/j.jfma.2022.05.015 -
Cell Death & Disease Jul 2021Afatinib, a second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), exerts its antitumor effects in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) by inducing intrinsic...
Afatinib, a second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), exerts its antitumor effects in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) by inducing intrinsic apoptosis through suppression of mTORC1. However, the detailed mechanism and biological significance of afatinib-induced autophagy in HNSCC remains unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated that afatinib induced mTORC1 suppression-mediated autophagy in HNSCC cells. Further mechanistic investigation revealed that afatinib stimulated REDD1-TSC1 signaling, giving rise to mTORC1 inactivation and subsequent autophagy. Moreover, ROS generation elicited by afatinib was responsible for the induction of the REDD1-TSC1-mTORC1 axis. In addition, pharmacological or genetic inhibition of autophagy sensitized HNSCC cells to afatinib-induced apoptosis, demonstrating that afatinib activated pro-survival autophagy in HNSCC cells. Importantly, in vitro and in vivo assays showed that afatinib caused enhanced apoptosis but weaker autophagy in stem-like HNSCC cells constructed by CDH1 knockdown. This suggested that blocking autophagy has the potential to serve as a promising strategy to target HNSCC stem cells. In conclusion, our findings suggested that the combination treatment with afatinib and autophagy inhibitors has the potential to eradicate HNSCC cells, especially cancer stem cells in clinical therapy.
Topics: Afatinib; Animals; Apoptosis; Autophagy; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Male; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Nude; Models, Biological; Neoplasm Proteins; Neoplastic Stem Cells; Reactive Oxygen Species; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; Up-Regulation; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays; Mice
PubMed: 34294686
DOI: 10.1038/s41419-021-04011-0