Abstract 2336: Pan-cancer analysis of NAMPT inhibitors reveals unique sensitivities to multiple NAMPT inhibitors in several cancer types
Authors: Hong Jenny J. , McDermott Martina S. , Ng Jewel K. , Pandya Prita , Slamon Dennis J. 
Published: June 2022

Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) plays a critical role in cellular metabolism and as such has been an active target for cancer drug therapy. NAMPT inhibition, via small molecule NAMPT inhibitors, disrupts cellular energy metabolism as well as other NAD+-dependent processes and has been shown to suppress cancer cell proliferation. The early clinical translation of NAMPT inhibitors has been hindered by toxicity, therefore the successful development of newer classes of NAMPT inhibitors will depend on identifying cancers with unique sensitivity to, and molecular biomarkers of susceptibility to NAMPT inhibition. Through our pan-cancer screens using several different NAMPT inhibitors on molecularly characterized cancer cell line panels, we have identified specific cancer types and subtypes that are consistently sensitive to NAMPT inhibition. In order to determine the efficacy of NAMPT inhibitors in different cancer cells, we performed proliferation assays on a large and fully characterized panel of human cancer cell lines (n=496) for response to several NAMPT inhibitors including FK866, KPT9274 and LSN3154567. Briefly, cells were treated with six dilutions of these inhibitors in duplicate, counted following a 6-day treatment window and IC50 values were determined for each cell line. Reverse-phase protein array (RPPA) analysis, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), point mutation and RNAseq data for each cell line were then queried for correlation with NAMPT sensitivity/resistance. Proliferation assays indicate a strong correlation between sensitive and resistant cancer cell types to all three compounds despite their different mechanisms of action. Most notably, acute myeloid leukemia (AML), ovarian cancer, Ewing’s sarcoma and small cell lung cancer cells (SCLC) consistently demonstrated sensitivity to treatment with NAMPT inhibitors. Additional analysis revealed several baseline genomic and proteomic markers that were strongly associated with response to NAMPT inhibition. Our screening process provides a comprehensive overview of the cancer types and subtypes that demonstrate sensitivity to NAMPT inhibition. Furthermore, the molecular predictors of response identified in our screen may ultimately be useful in developing diagnostic tools for enrollment in biomarker-enriched clinical trials aimed at determining the potential use of NAMPT inhibitors. These results suggest the inhibitors’ therapeutic potential in patient populations presenting with AML, ovarian cancer, Ewing’s sarcoma and SCLC all of which currently have high unmet needs.

Citation Format: Jenny J. Hong, Martina S. McDermott, Jewel K. Ng, Prita Pandya, Dennis J. Slamon. Pan-cancer analysis of NAMPT inhibitors reveals unique sensitivities to multiple NAMPT inhibitors in several cancer types [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 2336.