Virtual Library

 x 
My Library Virtual Library FAQ

Start Your Search

W. Berger



Author of

  • +

    ORAL 14 - Biology 2 (ID 112)

    • Event: WCLC 2015
    • Type: Oral Session
    • Track: Thymoma, Mesothelioma and Other Thoracic Malignancies
    • Presentations: 1
    • +

      ORAL14.07 - Preclinical Investigation of the Therapeutic Potential of Nintedanib in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (ID 2655)

      17:50 - 18:01  |  Author(s): W. Berger

      • Abstract
      • Slides

      Background:
      Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a devastating malignancy with still rising incidence worldwide. Its aggressive biological behavior and therapy resistance result in a median overall survival (OS) of 9 to 17 months only. Currently, platinum-based chemotherapy in combination with antifolate agents is the standard front-line therapy for MPM and to date no molecularly targeted therapeutic approaches have been approved in the clinics. Nintedanib is an indolinone derivative that has been demonstrated to efficiently inhibit the activity of VEGFR, PDGFR and FGFR tyrosine kinase isoforms and thus to be capable to suppress angiogenesis and tumor growth. Here, we report the antitumor activity of nintedanib in MPM.

      Methods:
      21 MPM cell lines were treated with nintedanib and SRB assays were performed to determine the IC50 values for each cell line. 4 sensitive cell models were selected for further in vitro analysis: BrdU, TUNEL and clonogenic assays were performed to investigate the impact of the drug on the proliferation, apoptosis and colony formation capacity of MPM cells, respectively. The migratory activity of MPM cells was analyzed with 2D videomicroscopy. The downstream signaling of the target receptors was investigated by Western blot analysis. Drug interactions with cisplatin were assessed in the p31 MPM cell line and in its cisplatin-resistant subline (p31cis) by using the CalcuSyn software. The in vivo anti-MPM activity of nintedanib was studied in an orthotopic human MPM xenograft model in SCID mice. Tumor-bearing animals were treated with 50 mg/kg nintedanib daily, per os (PO) or intraperitoneally (IP) and followed for survival.

      Results:
      Nintedanib exerted a growth inhibitory effect on MPM cell lines in both short- and long-term viability assays. The inhibition of proliferation was observed in all MPM cell models analyzed, whereas significant apoptosis induction was only found in half of them. Migratory activity strongly decreased upon nintedanib treatment. Down-regulation of Erk1/2 phosphorylation was evident within 10 min of treatment and was present even after 24h. Nintedanib, however, had no inhibitory effect on the activation of Akt or S6. Additive, but no synergistic effect on cell viability was detected in the p31 and p31cis MPM cells when nintedanib was combined with cisplatin. In vivo, survival of PO-treated animals showed favorable trend (vs. PO control, log-rank test, p=0.059). Nintedanib significantly prolonged the survival of mice when it was administered IP (vs. IP control, log-rank test, p=0.0008).

      Conclusion:
      Our data suggest that nintedanib exerts antitumor activity in MPM both in vitro and in vivo and thus may represent a promising novel therapeutic option in this malignancy.

      Only Active Members that have purchased this event or have registered via an access code will be able to view this content. To view this presentation, please login or select "Add to Cart" and proceed to checkout.

  • +

    P3.04 - Poster Session/ Biology, Pathology, and Molecular Testing (ID 235)

    • Event: WCLC 2015
    • Type: Poster
    • Track: Biology, Pathology, and Molecular Testing
    • Presentations: 1
    • +

      P3.04-103 - Evaluation of the TGF Beta Superfamily Member Activin-A as a Novel Circulating Prognostic Marker in Lung Cancer (ID 2720)

      09:30 - 09:30  |  Author(s): W. Berger

      • Abstract

      Background:
      Identification of biomarkers that can facilitate early detection and therapeutic decision making in lung cancer (LC) is urgently needed. Growth factors of the activin family are deregulated in a number of malignancies including thoracic tumors. Recent studies provided data regarding the tumor tissue expression levels of activin-A in lung adenocarcinoma (ADC): High activin-A expression was associated with poor prognosis, enhanced metastasis and shorter progression-free survival in stage I ADC. Since activin-A is secreted to the circulation and can be detected in plasma, this study aims to determine, for the first time, the value of circulating activin-A as a biomarker in LC patients.

      Methods:
      Plasma samples from patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC, n= 79), ADC (n=87) and squamous cell carcinoma (n=36) were collected between 2009 and 2013 at the time of diagnosis or before surgical resection. Additional samples, serving as age- and sex-matched controls, consisted of individuals without malignancies (n=66). Measurement of samples was performed using the Quantikine activin-A Elisa kit (R&D Systems) and all statistical analyses were performed using the PASW Statistics 20.0 package and GraphPad Prism 6.0.

      Results:
      Mean plasma activin-A levels (PAL) (pg/ml) were the following: 628,8±38,42 (ADC, range: 112,4-1875), 613,5±68,22 (SCC, range: 194-2076), 771±77,06 (SCLC, range: 174,1-3627) and 433,3±16,27 (controls, range: 194,1-808,8). A gender-related variation in the PAL of controls (female (n=31, mean PAL 469,5±24,54 (range 212,95-808,79)) vs. male (n=35; mean PAL 401,3±20,49 (range 194,1-759,02)), p= 0.0319) was observed. PAL was significantly increased in patients with ADC (p=0.0009), SCC (p=0.0061) and SCLC (p<0.0001) compared to controls. There was no difference in PAL with regard to patients´ age, gender, BMI, smoking status or other co-morbidities in all 3 LC types. A significant TNM stage-dependent increase of PAL was observed in all 3 LC types. PAL was elevated in T3 SCC, in T4 ADC and in T3 and T4 SCLC. PAL was also clearly associated with N status and metastatic disease in all 3 LC types. Importantly, in case of SCLC, PAL was associated with extensive disease and showed metastatic site specificity. In ADC patients, elevated PAL was associated with significantly worse overall survival (OS) (p<0.0001). Of note, in locally advanced ADC, elevated PAL also proved to be a significant negative prognosticator (p=0.048). Moreover, elevated PAL was associated with a poor OS in SCLC patients (p=0.0009). Multivariate analysis revealed that PAL was an independent prognostic factor in ADC and SCLC patients. Survival and multivariate analysis data of the SCC cohort will be presented at the conference. ROC curve analysis showed an AUC of 0.691 in SCLC and an AUC of 0,657 in ADC for PAL.

      Conclusion:
      Our findings suggest that PAL is significantly elevated in a disease stage-dependent manner in LC patients. Moreover, elevated PAL is associated with poor prognosis in ADC and SCLC patients.