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Aravind P, Popat S, Barwick TD, Soneji N, Lythgoe M, Sreter KB, Lozano-Kuehne JP, Bergqvist M, Patel N, Aboagye EO, Kenny LM. A Subset of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Treated with Pemetrexed Show 18F-Fluorothymidine "Flare" on Positron Emission Tomography. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:3718. [PMID: 37509378 PMCID: PMC10377924 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15143718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Thymidylate synthase (TS) remains a major target for cancer therapy. TS inhibition elicits increases in DNA salvage pathway activity, detected as a transient compensatory "flare" in 3'-deoxy-3'-[18F]fluorothymidine positron emission tomography (18F-FLT PET). We determined the magnitude of the 18F-FLT flare in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with the antifolate pemetrexed in relation to clinical outcome. METHOD Twenty-one patients with advanced/metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) scheduled to receive palliative pemetrexed ± platinum-based chemotherapy underwent 18F-FLT PET at baseline and 4 h after initiating single-agent pemetrexed. Plasma deoxyuridine (dUrd) levels and thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) activity were measured before each scan. Patients were then treated with the combination therapy. The 18F-FLT PET variables were compared to RECIST 1.1 and overall survival (OS). RESULTS Nineteen patients had evaluable PET scans at both time points. A total of 32% (6/19) of patients showed 18F-FLT flares (>20% change in SUVmax-wsum). At the lesion level, only one patient had an FLT flare in all the lesions above (test-retest borders). The remaining had varied uptake. An 18F-FLT flare occurred in all lesions in 1 patient, while another patient had an 18F-FLT reduction in all lesions; 17 patients showed varied lesion uptake. All patients showed global TS inhibition reflected in plasma dUrd levels (p < 0.001) and 18F-FLT flares of TS-responsive normal tissues including small bowel and bone marrow (p = 0.004 each). Notably, 83% (5/6) of patients who exhibited 18F-FLT flares were also RECIST responders with a median OS of 31 m, unlike patients who did not exhibit 18F-FLT flares (15 m). Baseline plasma TK1 was prognostic of survival but its activity remained unchanged following treatment. CONCLUSIONS The better radiological response and longer survival observed in patients with an 18F-FLT flare suggest the efficacy of the tracer as an indicator of the early therapeutic response to pemetrexed in NSCLC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Preetha Aravind
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK; (P.A.); (T.D.B.); (N.S.); (M.L.); (J.P.L.-K.); (N.P.)
| | - Sanjay Popat
- Lung Unit, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Fulham Road, London SW3 6JJ, UK; (S.P.); (K.B.S.)
| | - Tara D. Barwick
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK; (P.A.); (T.D.B.); (N.S.); (M.L.); (J.P.L.-K.); (N.P.)
- Department of Imaging, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8RF, UK
| | - Neil Soneji
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK; (P.A.); (T.D.B.); (N.S.); (M.L.); (J.P.L.-K.); (N.P.)
- Lung Unit, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Fulham Road, London SW3 6JJ, UK; (S.P.); (K.B.S.)
- Department of Imaging, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8RF, UK
| | - Mark Lythgoe
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK; (P.A.); (T.D.B.); (N.S.); (M.L.); (J.P.L.-K.); (N.P.)
| | - Katherina B. Sreter
- Lung Unit, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Fulham Road, London SW3 6JJ, UK; (S.P.); (K.B.S.)
| | - Jingky P. Lozano-Kuehne
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK; (P.A.); (T.D.B.); (N.S.); (M.L.); (J.P.L.-K.); (N.P.)
| | | | - Neva Patel
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK; (P.A.); (T.D.B.); (N.S.); (M.L.); (J.P.L.-K.); (N.P.)
- Department of Imaging, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8RF, UK
| | - Eric O. Aboagye
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK; (P.A.); (T.D.B.); (N.S.); (M.L.); (J.P.L.-K.); (N.P.)
| | - Laura M. Kenny
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK; (P.A.); (T.D.B.); (N.S.); (M.L.); (J.P.L.-K.); (N.P.)
- Department of Medical Oncology, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8RF, UK
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Chen JY, Chen HJ, Chen PF. Association of expression and genotypes of thymidylate synthase in non-small cell lung cancer patients with different clinicopathological characteristics. Pteridines 2021. [DOI: 10.1515/pteridines-2020-0013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Objective
To explore the expression and genotypes of thymidylate synthase (TS) in patients of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with different clinicopathological characteristics.
Methods
The expression profiles of TS were examined by immunohistochemical staining and quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in 160 patients with NSCLC. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used to detect TS-5′UTR tandem repeats, G/C nucleotide polymorphisms, and 3′UTR 6 bp deletion/insertion polymorphisms. The relationships between clinicopathological characteristics and TS expression or genotypes were investigated through χ
2 test. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was used to analyze the association between TS expression and overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of NSCLC patients.
Results
The expression levels of TS protein and TS gene in NSCLC tissues were significantly higher than that in paracancerous tissues (P < 0.05). Furthermore, high expression of TS protein and 5′UTR polymorphism of TS gene showed significant correlation with differentiation, TNM stage, and lymph node metastases. The frequency of −6 bp/−6 bp genotypes in patients with NSCLC was 43.13% (69/160), which was higher than others. In addition, the rate of TS protein overexpression in NSCLC patients with 3R/3R was 79.79%, which was higher than others. Interestingly, high expression of TS protein predicted shorter DFS and OS and lower 3-year DFS rate and 3-year OS rate.
Conclusions
The expression levels of TS in NSCLC were significantly increased and may help to predict the prognosis of NSCLC, and high expression of TS protein and 5′UTR polymorphism of TS gene were significantly related to differentiation, TNM stage, and lymph node metastases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Yin Chen
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Zhuji Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University (Zhuji People’s Hospital of Zhejiang Province), 9 Jianmin Street, Taozhu Sub-district, Zhuji , Zhejiang 311800 , China
| | - He-Jian Chen
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Zhuji Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University (Zhuji People’s Hospital of Zhejiang Province), 9 Jianmin Street, Taozhu Sub-district, Zhuji , Zhejiang 311800 , China
| | - Pei-Feng Chen
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Zhuji Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University (Zhuji People’s Hospital of Zhejiang Province), 9 Jianmin Street, Taozhu Sub-district, Zhuji , Zhejiang 311800 , China
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Dexamethasone pretreatment impairs the thymidylate synthase inhibition mediated flare in thymidine salvage pathway activity in non-small cell lung cancer. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202384. [PMID: 30142195 PMCID: PMC6108460 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Successful inhibition of thymidylate synthase (TS) by pemetrexed, a TS inhibitor, results in a reproducible transient burst or "flare" in thymidine salvage pathway activity at 2 hrs. of therapy which can be measurable with FLT-PET ([18F]fluorothymidine-positron emission tomography) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Routine administration of dexamethasone with pemetrexed-based therapy could potentially confound this imaging approach since dexamethasone is known to inhibit expression of thymidine kinase 1, a key enzyme in the thymidine salvage pathway. Here we examine the potential impact of dexamethasone on the TS inhibition-mediated thymidine salvage pathway "flare" in NSCLC. MATERIALS AND METHODS In order to determine NSCLC cell line sensitivity to dexamethasone and pemetrexed, IC50 studies were performed on NSCLC cell lines H23, H1975, H460, H1299. TS inhibition-mediated "flare" in thymidine salvage pathway activity was then measured at 2hrs. of exposure to pemetrexed and cisplatin in NSCLC cells lines following using 3H-thymidine incorporation assays under the following conditions: control (no chemotherapy or dexamethasone), or treated with pemetrexed and cisplatin without dexamethasone, with 24 hrs. pre-treatment of dexamethasone or with dexamethasone administered together with chemotherapy. These conditions were chosen to model the delivery of pemetrexed-based therapy in the clinic. RESULTS The IC50 of H23, H1975, H460, H1299 for dexamethasone and pemetrexed were 40, 5.9, 718, 362 μM and 0.22, 0.73, 0.14 and 0.66 μM respectively. Significant blunting of the thymidine salvage pathway "flare" is observed at 2hrs. of pemetrexed-based therapy when dexamethasone sensitive cell lines H23 and H1975 were pretreated with dexamethasone but not when dexamethasone was given together with pemetrexed therapy or in the setting of dexamethasone resistance (H460 and H1299). CONCLUSION 24 hr. pretreatment with dexamethasone, but not same day co-administration of dexamethasone with therapy, impairs the TS inhibition-mediated "flare" in thymidine salvage pathway activity in NSCLC.
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Jagarlamudi KK, Shaw M. Thymidine kinase 1 as a tumor biomarker: technical advances offer new potential to an old biomarker. Biomark Med 2018; 12:1035-1048. [PMID: 30039979 DOI: 10.2217/bmm-2018-0157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is a key enzyme in DNA precursor synthesis. It is upregulated during the S phase of the cell cycle and its presence in cells is an indicator of active cell proliferation. In studies since the 1980s, TK1 has been shown as a clinically valuable biomarker for the management of hematological malignancies. However, TK1 activity assays may underestimate serum TK1 in subjects with solid tumors limiting its sensitivity. The development of TK1 immunoassays has made the assay of TK1 more widely available and increased its applicability to solid tumor diseases. This paper will review TK1 as a tumor biomarker with emphasis on recent studies and technologies plus highlight its potential in drug discovery and as a therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiran Kumar Jagarlamudi
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology & Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, VHC, PO Box 7011, SE 75007 Uppsala, Sweden.,AroCell AB, Virdings Allé 32B, SE-754 50 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Martin Shaw
- AroCell AB, Virdings Allé 32B, SE-754 50 Uppsala, Sweden
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Mankoff DA, Katz SI. PET imaging for assessing tumor response to therapy. J Surg Oncol 2018; 118:362-373. [PMID: 29938396 DOI: 10.1002/jso.25114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 04/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a radioisotope imaging technique capable of quantifying the regional distribution of molecular imaging probes targeted to biochemical pathways and processes allowing direct measurement of biochemical changes induced by cancer therapy, including the activity of targeted growth pathways and cellular populations. In this manuscript, we review the underlying principles of PET imaging, choices for PET radiopharmaceuticals, methods for tumor analysis and PET applications for cancer therapy response assessment including potential future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Mankoff
- Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Sharyn I Katz
- Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Chen X, Yang Y, Katz S. Early detection of thymidylate synthase resistance in non-small cell lung cancer with FLT-PET imaging. Oncotarget 2017; 8:82705-82713. [PMID: 29137296 PMCID: PMC5669922 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.19751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2017] [Accepted: 06/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Inhibition of thymidylate synthase (TS) results in a transient compensatory "flare" in thymidine salvage pathway activity measureable with 18F-thymidine (FLT)- positron emission tomography (PET) at 2hrs. of therapy which may predict non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) sensitivity to TS inhibition. Materials and Methods Resistance to TS inhibition by pemetrexed was induced in NSCLC cell lines H460 and H1299 through TS overexpression. TS overexpression was confirmed with RT-PCR and Western blotting and pemetrexed resistance confirmed with IC50 assays. The presence of a pemetrexed-induced thymidine salvage pathway "flare" was then measured using 3H-thymidine in both pemetrexed sensitive (H460 and H1299) and resistant (H460R, H1299R, CALU-6, H522, H650, H661, H820, H1838) lines in vitro, and validated with FLT-PET in vivo using H460 and H460R xenografts. Results Overexpression of TS induced pemetrexed resistance with IC50 for H460, H1299, H460R and H1299R measured as 0.141 μM, 0.656 μM, 22.842 μM, 213.120 μM, respectively. Thymidine salvage pathway 3H-thymidine "flare" was observed following pemetrexed in H460 and H1299 but not H460R, H1299R, CALU-6, H522, H650, H661, H820 or H1838 in vitro. Similarly, a FLT "flare" was observed in vivo following pemetrexed therapy in H460 but not H460R tumor-bearing xenografts. Conclusions Imaging of TS inhibition is predictive of NSCLC sensitivity to pemetrexed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Chen
- Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Department of Radiology, Institute of Surgery Research, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yizeng Yang
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sharyn Katz
- Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Zaimenko I, Lisec J, Stein U, Brenner W. Approaches and techniques to characterize cancer metabolism in vitro and in vivo. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2017; 1868:412-419. [PMID: 28887205 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2017.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Revised: 08/22/2017] [Accepted: 08/25/2017] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Cancer metabolism is wired to sustain uncontrollable cell proliferation and ensure cell survival. Given the multitude of available approaches to study metabolic alterations it remains a challenging task to select the most appropriate method. In this mini-review we describe how cancer metabolism can be studied in vitro and in vivo providing an overview of available approaches and techniques, discussing their advantages and drawbacks and guiding through selection of an appropriate method to address particular research needs. This work is particularly intended to those cancer researchers who are new in the field but want to investigate metabolic alterations in their cancer model systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inna Zaimenko
- Experimental and Clinical Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine Berlin, Germany; Berlin School of Integrative Oncology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
| | - Jan Lisec
- Metabolomics Unit at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Medical Department of Hematology, Oncology, and Tumor Immunology, Molekulares Krebsforschungszentrum (MKFZ), Berlin, Germany; German Cancer Consortium, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ulrike Stein
- Experimental and Clinical Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine Berlin, Germany; German Cancer Consortium, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Winfried Brenner
- German Cancer Consortium, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany; Berlin Experimental Radionuclide Imaging Center (BERIC), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
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