Metronomic chemotherapy offsets HIF? induction upon maximum-tolerated dose in metastatic cancers.
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ABSTRACT: Conventional maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) chemotherapy relies on periodic, massive cancer cell ablation events followed by treatment-free intermissions, stereotypically resulting in resistance, relapse, and mortality. Furthermore, MTD chemotherapy can promote metastatic dissemination via activation of a transcriptional program dependent on hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1? and (HIF)-2? (hereafter referred to as HIF?). Instead, frequent low-dose metronomic (LDM) chemotherapy displays less adverse effects while preserving significant pre-clinical anticancer activity. Consequently, we hereby compared the effect of MTD or LDM chemotherapy upon HIF? in models of advanced, metastatic colon and breast cancer. Our results revealed that LDM chemotherapy could offset paralog-specific, MTD-dependent HIF? induction in colon cancers disseminating to the liver and lungs, while limiting HIF? and hypoxia in breast cancer lung metastases. Moreover, we assessed the translational significance of HIF? activity in colorectal and breast TCGA/microarray data, by developing two compact, 11-gene transcriptomic signatures allowing the stratification/identification of patients likely to benefit from LDM and/or HIF?-targeting therapies. Altogether, these results suggest LDM chemotherapy as a potential maintenance strategy to stave off HIF? induction within the intra-metastatic tumor microenvironment.
SUBMITTER: Schito L
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7507002 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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