Abstract 838: Synergistic in vivo activity of the ATR inhibitor BAY 1895344 in combination with the targeted alpha therapy radium-223 dichloride in a preclinical tumor model mimicking bone metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)
Authors: Wengner Antje Margret , Siemeister Gerhard , Luecking Ulrich , Lefranc Julien , Scholz Arne , Suominen Mari , Meyer Kirstin , Lagkadinou Eleni , Mumberg Dominik 
Published: August 2018

The integrity of the genome in eukaryotic cells is secured by complex signalling pathways, known collectively as DNA damage response (DDR). Recognition of DNA damage activates DDR pathways resulting in cell cycle arrest, suppression of general translation, induction of DNA repair, cell survival, or even cell death. Proteins that directly recognize aberrant DNA structures recruit and activate kinases of the DDR pathway, such as ATR (ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related). The ATR kinase is activated by a broad spectrum of DNA damages, including double-strand breaks (DSBs) and lesions derived from interference with DNA replication as well as increased replication stress. Therefore, inhibition of ATR kinase activity could be the basis for a novel anti-cancer therapy in cancers characterized by increased DNA damage, deficiency in DNA damage repair or replication stress. Radium-223 dichloride (Xofigo®) is the first approved targeted alpha therapy. It is indicated for the treatment of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), symptomatic bone metastases and no known visceral metastatic disease, based on improvement of overall survival. It is a calcium-mimetics that selectively binds to hydroxyapatite targeting areas of high bone turnover such as bone metastases, thereby exhibiting strong cytotoxic effects on adjacent cells via induction of DNA DSBs. We assessed the anti-tumor efficacy of combination treatment with ATR inhibitor (ATRi) BAY 1895344 and radium-223 dichloride in an intratibially injected prostate cancer model mimicking CRPC with bone metastases. In vivo analyses addressed the optimization of the dosing schedule as well as dose-response of BAY 1895344 in radium-223 combination setting. Levels of intra-tumor DNA damage (P-H2AX) were assessed to demonstrate the proposed mode-of-action. Here, we show that combination treatment with ATRi BAY 1895344 and radium-223 exhibits synergistic anti-tumor activity in the intratibial LNCaP xenograft model of mCRPC, achieving best efficacy when BAY 1895344 is applied 24 hours after treatment with radium-223, as indicated by direct reduction of tumor burden in the bone, lower serum tumor marker (PSA), and smaller areas of tumor-induced changes in bone. With this optimized schedule, a very low dose of BAY 1895344 (3% of single-agent MTD) was effective in combination with radium-223. Our findings strongly suggest that the combination of DNA damage induction by radium-223 with DDR inhibition by ATRi BAY 1895344 creates a potential new treatment option for CRPC patients with bone metastases. BAY 1895344 is currently under clinical investigation in patients with advanced solid tumors and lymphomas (NCT03188965).

Citation Format: Antje Margret Wengner, Gerhard Siemeister, Ulrich Luecking, Julien Lefranc, Arne Scholz, Mari Suominen, Kirstin Meyer, Eleni Lagkadinou, Dominik Mumberg. Synergistic in vivo activity of the ATR inhibitor BAY 1895344 in combination with the targeted alpha therapy radium-223 dichloride in a preclinical tumor model mimicking bone metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) [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 838.