Abstract 946: Suppression of breast cancer metastasis and extension of host animal survival by a new adamantyl antiestrogen, K-07, in a preclinical breast cancer metastasis model driven by constitutively active mutant estrogen receptors
Authors: Laws Mary J. , Kim Sung Hoon , Min Jian , Zhao Yuechao , Ziegler Yvonne , Chu David , Park Ben H. , Katzenellenbogen John A. , Katzenellenbogen Benita S. 
Published: August 2018

Over one-third of human breast tumors that become resistant to endocrine therapies have acquired mutations in the estrogen receptor (ER alpha) that result in constitutive receptor activity in the absence of estrogen, and these tumors are much less sensitive to suppression by current standard-of-care antiestrogens such as tamoxifen and fulvestrant. We reported recently that the novel adamantyl antiestrogen, K-07, was effective in inhibiting the proliferation of breast tumor xenografts containing the two most frequent constitutively active mutant forms of the ER, Y537S ER and D538G ER, and that this antiestrogen reduced ER levels and the expression of ER-regulated genes (Zhao et al., Cancer Research 77(20):5602-5613, 2017). Because mutant ERs are usually enriched in recurrent, metastatic breast cancers compared to the primary breast cancer, we have now examined the effectiveness of compound K-07 in preventing the growth of breast cancer metastases and in extending survival in a metastatic tumor model. MCF-7 breast cancer cells expressing luciferase and Y537S ER or D538G ER (ca. 50% mutant ER and 50% wild type ER) were injected i.v. by the tail vein into NOD-SCID-gamma (NSG) female mice. The constitutively active ER-containing breast cancer cells established metastases in liver, bone and brain that increased in number and size over time (day zero – 80 days) as monitored by IVIS imaging and immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis. Daily oral treatment with K-07 (80 mg/kg orally for 30 days and then 40 mg/kg) versus oral vehicle greatly reduced the metastasis of mutant ER-containing breast cancer cells. Notably, mice with mutant ER-containing metastases treated with K-07 survived much longer than mice given daily control vehicle. In fact, by day 60, only 25% of vehicle treated mice with mutant ER breast cancers were alive whereas all K-07 treated D538G mice and 80% of Y537S mice were still alive. Hence, the findings indicate that this antiestrogen can reduce the in vivo metastasis of breast cancers driven by constitutively active mutant ERs and extend host survival. The findings suggest that the antiestrogen K-07 may be suitable for further translational and clinical examination of its efficacy in suppression of metastasis in patients with breast cancers containing constitutively active mutant ERs.

Citation Format: Mary J. Laws, Sung Hoon Kim, Jian Min, Yuechao Zhao, Yvonne Ziegler, David Chu, Ben H. Park, John A. Katzenellenbogen, Benita S. Katzenellenbogen. Suppression of breast cancer metastasis and extension of host animal survival by a new adamantyl antiestrogen, K-07, in a preclinical breast cancer metastasis model driven by constitutively active mutant estrogen receptors [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 946.