[FGFR-targeted therapy in head and neck carcinomas]

Patient Selection Approaches in FGFR Inhibitor Trials-Many Paths to the Same End?

Inhibitors of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) signaling have been investigated in various human cancer diseases. Recently, the first compounds received FDA approval in biomarker-selected patient populations. Different approaches and technologies have been applied in clinical trials, ranging from protein (immunohistochemistry) to mRNA expression (e.g., RNA in situ hybridization) and to detection of various DNA alterations (e.g., copy number variations, mutations, gene fusions). We review, here, the advantages and limitations of the different technologies and discuss the importance of tissue and disease context in identifying the best predictive biomarker for FGFR targeting therapies.

An Insight into Cholangiocarcinoma and Recent Advances in its Treatment

BACKGROUND

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a malignant disease of the epithelial cells of the intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts. This review focuses on various aspects of cholangiocarcinoma such as its associated causes, treatment criteria, and more.

METHODS

Although it remains a rare malignancy and is the second most common primary malignancy of the liver, the incidence is increasing, especially the incidence of intrahepatic CCA. Several studies suggested that surgery is not only solution; recently, reported targeted drugs may have the potential to become an alternative option.

RESULTS

This review provides an overview of the current scenario of targeted therapies for CCA, which were tabulated with their current status and it also included its associated causes and its treatment criteria.

CONCLUSION

Because of its rarity and complexity, surgery remains the preferred treatment in resectable patients. Howerver, the studies suggested that the recently reported drugs may have the potential to be an alternative option for the treatment of CCA and related complications. In addition, this review will certainly benefit the community and researcher for further investigation.

AZD4547 targets the FGFR/Akt/SOX2 axis to overcome paclitaxel resistance in head and neck cancer

PURPOSE

Development of chemoresistance is one of the major obstacles to the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The PI3K/Akt pathway, involved in drug resistance, has been found to be overactivated in > 90% of HNSCCs. Aberrant activation of the FGF receptors (FGFRs) has been reported to cause overactivation of the PI3K/Akt pathway and to be associated with the maintenance of stem cell features, which is controlled via SOX2 expression. In this study, we aimed at investigating the potential of using AZD4547, an orally bioavailable FGFR inhibitor, to overcome taxol-resistance by targeting the FGFR/Akt/SOX2 axis in HNSCC.

METHODS

We initially evaluated FGFR2 and SOX2 expression using in silico tools. We analyzed the FGFR/Akt/SOX2 axis in normal/tumor tissue pairs and in recombinant FGF2 treated HNSCC cells. Next, we explored the effects of AZD4547 alone and in combination with taxol on the proliferation, migration and colony forming capacities of parental/taxol-resistant cells using in vitro models.

RESULTS

We found that the p-FGFR, p-AKT, p-GSK-3β and SOX2 expression levels were higher in tumor tissues than in its corresponding normal tissues, and that AZD4547 effectively suppressed the expression of FGFR and its downstream targets in recombinant FGF2 treated HNSCC cells. We also found that AZD4547 diminished the viability, migration and colony forming capacity of HNSCC cells, and that co-treatment with taxol potentiated the impact of taxol on these cells. Finally, we found that AZD4547 inhibited the overexpressed FGFR/Akt/SOX2 axis and profoundly suppressed cancer-related phenotypes in taxol-resistant HNSCC cells.

CONCLUSION

From our data we conclude that AZD4547 may increase the impact of taxol during HNSCC treatment. We suggest AZD4547 as a therapeutic agent to overcome taxol-resistance.