Abstract 701: Evaluation of an AKT-1 antisense oligonucleotide in combination with Lenvatinib and Everolimus in Renca-luciferase syngeneic orthotopic murine tumor model
Authors: Xie Fengyang , Wei Jia , Deng Lan , Wang Chao , Zhao Ben , Lee Robert J. , Men Yuxin Angela 
Published: April 2023

Background: The combination of 18mg Lenvatinib and 5mg Everolimus per day is used in the clinic for advanced renal cancer patients. However, due to the severe side effects of Lenvatinib, the dose is often reduced to 12mg. Archexin, a fully phosphorothioated 20-mer antisense oligonucleotide, inhibits AKT-1 mRNA translation and inhibits tumor growth. Combination of Archexin with reduced-dosed Lenvatinib and Everolimus may reduce adverse reactions while enhancing therapeutic efficacy.

Methods: First, Lenvatinib and Everolimus monotherapies were evaluated for antitumor efficacy in an orthotopic Renca-luciferase syngeneic model. 45 mice were randomly divided into 9 groups (5 in each group), vehicle control, Lenvatinib (5, 10, 20, and 30 mg/kg) and Everolimus (0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mg/kg) via daily oral administration for 20 days. Next, we investigated the anti-tumor effect of the two- and three-drug combination. 35 mice were randomly divided into 7 groups (5 in each group), including vehicle control, Lenvatinib/Everolimus combinations (5+0.2, 10+0.2 and 10+0.5 mg/kg) and Archexin/Lenvatinib/Everolimus combinations (60+5+0.2, 60+10+0.2 and 60+10+0.5 mg/kg) via tail vein injection (vehicle/Archexin, Q3D*6 times) or oral administration (Lenvatinib and Everolimus, QD*18 days). Body weight was monitored daily. Tumor burden was measured by bioluminescence through whole-body fluorescence images, performed twice a week.

Results: The results showed that Everolimus inhibited tumor growth in a dose-dependent manner. Partial response was observed in mice treated with varying doses of Lenvatinib(TGIs: 57.94%,76.65% and 60.22%), and no significant dose-effect correlation was found. The dose of Lenvatinib and Everolimus that partially inhibited the orthotopic tumor growth had also been identified and selected for subsequent study investigating drug combinations. The drugs combination study showed that three drug combinations (Archexin/Lenvatinib/Everolimus) had superior efficacy compared to the Lenvatinib and Everolimus combination. The fluorescence signal intensities (Lg10) of the three-drug combination were significantly lower than that of the two-drug combination group with P value &lt;0.05. No severe adverse effects were observed in the three drug combinations group.

Conclusion: Three drugs combination of Archexin, Lenvatinib and Everolimus, demonstrated superior anti-tumor efficacy compared to the two-drug combination currently used in the clinic. This finding suggests the three-drug combination warrant investigation in the clinical trial in the patients with advanced renal cancer.

Citation Format: Fengyang Xie, Jia Wei, Lan Deng, Chao Wang, Ben Zhao, Robert J. Lee, Yuxin Angela Men. Evaluation of an AKT-1 antisense oligonucleotide in combination with Lenvatinib and Everolimus in Renca-luciferase syngeneic orthotopic murine tumor model [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 701.