Although the prognosis for clinically localized prostate cancer is now favorable, there are still no curative treatments for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and, therefore, it remains fatal.
In this study, we investigate a new therapeutic approach for treatment of CRPC, which involves dual targeting of a major signaling pathway that is frequently deregulated in the disease. We found that dual targeting of the Akt and mTOR signaling pathways with their respective inhibitors, MK-2206 and ridaforolimus (MK-8669), is highly effective for inhibiting CRPC in preclinical studies in vivo using a refined genetically engineered mouse model of the disease. The efficacy of the combination treatment contrasts with their limited efficacy as single agents, since delivery of MK-2206 or MK-8669 individually had a modest impact in vivo on the overall tumor phenotype. In human prostate cancer cell lines, although not in the mouse model, the synergistic actions of MK-2206 and ridaforolimus (MK-8669) are due in part to limiting the mTORC2 feedback activation of Akt. Moreover, the effects of these drugs are mediated by inhibition of cellular proliferation via the retinoblastoma (Rb) pathway. Our findings suggest that dual targeting of the Akt and mTOR signaling pathways using MK-2206 and ridaforolimus (MK-8669) may be effective for treatment of CRPC, particularly for patients with deregulated Rb pathway activity.
Written by:
Floc'h N, Kinkade CW, Kobayashi T, Aytes A, Lefebvre C, Mitrofanova A, Cardiff RD, Califano A, Shen MM, Abate-Shen C. Are you the author?
Departments of Urology and Pathology and Cell Biology, Biomedical Informatics and Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, and Medicine and Genetics & Development, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York; and Center for Comparative Medicine and Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, California.
Reference: Cancer Res. 2012 Sep 1;72(17):4483-93.
doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-12-0283
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22815528
UroToday.com Investigative Urology Section
