Abstract 1269: P-glycoprotein expression in refractory gastrointestinal stromal tumors and its implication in the efficacy of paclitaxel as a salvage treatment
Authors: Na Young-Soon , Ryu Min-Hee , Park Young Soo , Lee Chae-Won , Lee Ju-Kyung , Park Jung Min , Park Yangsoon , Kang Yoon-Koo 
Published: August 2019

BACKGROUND: KIT-targeting tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) such as imatinib, sunitinib and regorafenib are the standard treatment for patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). However, most patients eventually develop treatment resistance to these standard therapies, and new agents must be introduced upon disease progression. Before TKIs were available, most of the conventional cytotoxic agents did not show sufficient clinical activity in GIST patients. However, a recent preclinical study demonstrated that 37 of the 89 FDA-approved anti-tumor drugs including paclitaxel (PTX) possess antitumor effect in at least one GIST cell line. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of PTX as a salvage treatment for GIST patients who exhibited treatment failure after standard TKI therapy using in-vitro/vivo models.

MATERIALS and METHODS: The effect of PTX in GIST was examined by cell viability assay and rhodamine 123 (Rho123) efflux assay using GIST cells including established patient-derived GIST cell lines, and in animal models with patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) established from patients with GIST tumors refractory to TKIs. Multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) mRNA expression by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and P-glycoprotein (Pgp) expression by Western blotting or immunohistochemistry were evaluated in 20 patients’ tumor tissues, 9 GIST cell lines and 21 PDXs. To investigate the role of Pgp on PTX treatment, a stable MDR1-expressing GIST T1 cell line (GIST-T1-ABCB1#17) was prepared and compared with parent GIST T1 cell line. Verapamil was used as a Pgp inhibitor.

RESULTS: Compared to imatinib-sensitive GIST-T1 harboring KIT exon 11 mutation and imatinib-resistant GIST-T1/816 harboring KIT exon 11 and 17 mutations, the patient-derived imatinib- and sunitinib-resistant GIST-R3 cell line harboring KIT exon 11 and 17 mutations was more resistant to PTX. Higher Rho123 efflux was observed in GIST-R3 which had high Pgp expression than in GIST-T1 and GIST-T1/816 which had low Pgp expression. The tumor growth inhibition of PTX was greater in xenografts with low Pgp expression (GIST-T1/816 xenografts and GIST-RX10 PDXs) than in xenografts with high Pgp expression (GIST-R3 xenografts and GIST-RX4 PDX). The GIST-T1-ABCB1#17, a stable MDR1-expressing GIST T1 cell line, exhibited a higher Pgp activity and a less sensitivity to PTX than the parent GIST-T1 cell line. The resistance of GIST-T1-ABCB1#17 to PTX was overcome by verapamil.

CONCLUSION: Pgp expression was an important mechanism of resistance to PTX in preclinical GIST models. PTX is worth being tried clinically as a salvage treatment in patients with refractory GISTs with low Pgp expression.

Citation Format: Young-Soon Na, Min-Hee Ryu, Young Soo Park, Chae-Won Lee, Ju-Kyung Lee, Jung Min Park, Yangsoon Park, Yoon-Koo Kang. P-glycoprotein expression in refractory gastrointestinal stromal tumors and its implication in the efficacy of paclitaxel as a salvage treatment [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1269.