New Insights in the Interaction of FGF/FGFR and Steroid Receptor Signaling in Breast Cancer

Luminal breast cancer (BrCa) has a favorable prognosis compared with other tumor subtypes. However, with time, tumors may evolve and lead to disease progression; thus, there is a great interest in unraveling the mechanisms that drive tumor metastasis and endocrine resistance. In this review, we focus on one of the many pathways that have been involved in tumor progression, the fibroblast growth factor/fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) axis. We emphasize in data obtained from in vivo experimental models that we believe that in luminal BrCa, tumor growth relies in a crosstalk with the stromal tissue. We revisited the studies that illustrate the interaction between hormone receptors and FGFR. We also highlight the most frequent alterations found in BrCa cell lines and provide a short review on the trials that use FGFR inhibitors in combination with endocrine therapies. Analysis of these data suggests there are many players involved in this pathway that might be also targeted to decrease FGF signaling, in addition to specific FGFR inhibitors that may be exploited to increase their efficacy.

Pharmacology and anti-tumor activity of RWJ67657, a novel inhibitor of p38 mitogen activated protein kinase

Endocrine therapy resistance is a primary cause of clinical breast cancer treatment failure. The p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway is known to promote ligand independent tumor growth and resistance to endocrine therapy. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of the p38 inhibitor RWJ67657 in the treatment of tamoxifen resistant MDA-MB-361 cells. RWJ67657 dose-dependently decreased both basal and stimulated activation of p38 MAPK signaling in this drug resistant cell system. Decreased activation of p38 by RWJ67657 resulted in inhibition of the downstream p38 targets hsp27 and MAPKAPK. Diminished p38 signaling resulted in inhibition of p38-medated gene transcription. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition of p38 by RWJ67657 decreased biological effects of p38, including ER-mediated gene expression and clonogenic survival in a dose-dependent manner. Animal studies revealed significantly decreased p38 signaling in vivo following exposure to RWJ67657. Treatment with the inhibitor markedly decreased phosphorylation of p38 in MDA-MB-361 tumors, leading to decreased transcription of both Fra-1 and progesterone receptor. Utilizing well-established xenograft tumor models, we demonstrated that RWJ67657 exhibits potent anti-tumor properties. Treatment with RWJ67657 markedly decreased tamoxifen resistant tumor growth, both in the presence and absence of estrogen. Taken together, our findings demonstrate the therapeutic potential of targeting the p38-MAPK signaling cascade in the treatment of endocrine resistant breast cancer.