Abstract 2733: Novel mouse model carrying APC and PIK3CA mutations in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, despite substantial development in its early diagnosis and treatment. The animal models of CRC have been immensely useful for understanding CRC pathogenesis, investigating the effects of genetic modifications on CRC, and for the development of new chemopreventive/chemotherapeutic drugs. Most (>80%) CRC carry mutations in the APC gene and many (15-20%) carry mutations in the PIK3CA gene, encoding the p110 catalytic subunit of the PI3K kinase. We sought to better understand the interaction between APC and PIK3CA mutations in the mammalian intestine. To examine the effect of mutations in APC and PIK3CA on tumorigenesis, Min mice were crossed with the FC13K1 (FC13K1ApcMin/+). This cross resulted in a murine model with the loss of one allele of Apc throughout the intestine and the expression of a dominant active PI3K (3K1) in the distal small intestine and colon due to the expression of Cre under the control of the rat fatty acid binding protein-1 promoter (FC1). There was increased tumor multiplicity, size and a more aggressive and poorly differentiated phenotype as a consequence of synergy between APC and PIK3CA mutations. Tumors form as adenomas, but quickly progress to invasive adenocarcinomas that eventually metastasize to regional lymph nodes. Using this mouse model, we have recently shown that fisetin, a dietary flavonoid could be used as a preventive agent and an adjuvant with 5-fluorouracil (FU) for the treatment of PIK3CA-mutant CRC. Tumor incidence was markedly lower in fisetin-treated FC13K1ApcMin/+ mice in distal small intestine and colon, as compared to control animals, indicating that fisetin is a strong preventive agent. In addition, the combination of fisetin and 5-FU also reduced the total number of intestinal tumors. We extended our work by demonstrating that the effect of drugs on tumorigenesis was impacted by the mutation profile of the tumor and intratumoral heterogeneity. We developed the mouse model in which intestinal tumors were composed entirely of PIK3CA wild-type cells, entirely of PIK3CA-mutant cells, or a mixture of both. We demonstrated that low dose aspirin blocked the development of heterogeneous tumors composed of PIK3CA wild-type and PIK3CA-mutant cells but not the development of homogenous tumors composed entirely of PIK3CA wild-type cells. Thus, this new model of CRC recapitulates the effect of aspirin that was observed in humans. Sustained exposure to low dose aspirin reduced the recurrence the PIK3CA-mutant CRC cancers in humans. This aggressive murine model is an exciting model of human CRC that has the potential to be instrumental in the development of targeted chemoprevention and therapeutics. Citation Format: Naghma Khan, Farah Jajeh, Emily L. Eberhardt, Devon D. Miller, Dawn M. Albrecht, Rachel Van Doorn, Melissa D. Hruby, Morgan E. Maresh, Linda Clipson, Hasan Mukhtar, Richard B. Halberg. Novel mouse model carrying APC and PIK3CA mutations in colorectal cancer [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 2733.