• Susan L Dalrymple, Robyn E Becker, Haoming Zhou, Theodore L DeWeese, and John T Isaacs.
• Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. dalrysu@jhmi.edu
• Prostate. 2012 May 1; 72 (6): 638-48.

BackgroundTasquinimod is a novel inhibitor of tumor angiogenesis which enhances therapeutic efficacy when combined with androgen ablation and/or taxane-based chemotherapies in pre-clinical prostate cancer models. It has entered registration Phase III evaluation for the treatment of castration resistant prostate cancer. Since tasquinimod suppresses the angiogenic switch induced by tumor hypoxia as prostate cancers outgrow their blood supply, this raises the issue of whether tasquinimod also suppresses the angiogenic rebound induced by fractionated radiation thereby enhancing therapeutic response to fractionated radiation.MethodsHuman endothelial and prostate cancer cells in culture and human prostate cancer xenografts growing in castrated male nude mice were evaluated for their response to radiation alone and in combination with tasquinimod.ResultsAt clinically relevant drug levels, tasquinimod significantly (P < 0.05) enhances anti-cancer efficacy of fractionated radiation with optimal timing for initiating daily tasquinimod treatment being after completion of the fractionated radiation.ConclusionsBased upon cell culture studies and tumor tissue oxygenation (i.e., pO(2)), tumor vascular volume, and tumor blood vessel density measurements, the mechanism for such enhancement and optimal timing involves tasquinimod's ability to prevent the angiogenic rebound induced by fractionated radiation.Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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