Abstract 216: Functional stability, progression and evolution of targeted drug sensitivity of HER-2-positive breast cancer patient-derived xenografts
Authors: Landuzzi Lorena , Ianzano Marianna L. , Ceccarelli Claudio , Oto Enrico Di , Nicoletti Giordano , Giusti Veronica , Laranga Roberta , Balboni Tania , Giovanni Carla De , Dall'Ora Massimiliano , Asioli Sofia , Palladini Arianna , Santini Donatella , Foschini Maria Pia , Taffurelli Mario , Lollini Pier-Luigi , Nanni Patrizia 
Published: August 2018

Human tumors are dynamic entities that undergo variation, selection and progression within the patient. How well patient-derived xenografts (PDX) recapitulate tumor dynamics? To investigate these aspects we established a collection of breast cancer PDX, representative of the main intrinsic subtypes. From 66 primary breast cancer specimens, we obtained 5 transplantable PDXs (8%). The highest rate of PDX stabilization was obtained for HER2-positive (40%) followed by triple negative (17%) and luminal B (14%) subtypes. In 3/66 cases a human lymphoma developed without any further evidence of breast cancer. Two HER-2-positive and one non-amplified, HER-2++, luminal B PDXs were serially transplanted in mice for 7-25 passages over a period of 2-4 years. Morphological and immunohistochemical (ER, PR, Ki67, p53, HER2, HER1, HER3, IGFR) features were highly stable over serial passages of PDXs, which retained the histology and the expression pattern of the tumor of origin. After the second passage, one HER-2++ amplified PDX, named BO-HAT4, was split in six different sublines, which were then studied separately to analyze random and selective events in long-term evolution. Two sublines progressively acquired a marked acceleration of tumor growth rate, whereas the remaining four did not. Metastatic spread was absent in early passages and appeared sporadically in late passages. In vitro cultures derived from early in vivo passages showed a rapid onset of cell senescence, whereas late in vivo passages gave rise to long-term in vitro cultures. However, we have not yet been able to obtain continuous cell lines from breast cancer PDX. To study the onset of resistance to HER-2 targeted therapies, sequential in vivo passages of BO-HAT4 were treated with trastuzumab, leading to a progressive loss of sensitivity. After one year of treatment BO-HAT4 was completely resistant to trastuzumab. We are currently investigating the molecular changes underlying trastuzumab resistance. Interestingly, both trastuzumab-sensitive and -resistant tumors were highly inhibited by neratinib. In conclusion, the low take rate as PDX prevents the generalized analysis of human breast cancer patients. Individual PDX allow the analysis of target therapy response and onset of resistance, however long-term study of transplantable breast cancer PDX show that tumor progression in these model systems is a late and random event. Supported by grants from the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC) and the University of Bologna, Italy.

Citation Format: Lorena Landuzzi, Marianna L. Ianzano, Claudio Ceccarelli, Enrico Di Oto, Giordano Nicoletti, Veronica Giusti, Roberta Laranga, Tania Balboni, Carla De Giovanni, Massimiliano Dall'Ora, Sofia Asioli, Arianna Palladini, Donatella Santini, Maria Pia Foschini, Mario Taffurelli, Pier-Luigi Lollini, Patrizia Nanni. Functional stability, progression and evolution of targeted drug sensitivity of HER-2-positive breast cancer patient-derived xenografts [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 216.