Inhibition of growth of primary human tumour cell cultures by a 4-anilinoquinazoline inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor family of tyrosine kinases

• Published in: European journal of cancer (1990) Vol. 34; no. 7; pp. 1086 - 1090
• Main Authors: Baguley, B.C, Marshall, E.S, Holdaway, K.M, Rewcastle, G.W, Denny, W.A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.06.1998; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Cell Division; doubling time; Endometrial Neoplasms - drug therapy; Endometrial Neoplasms - pathology; Enzyme Inhibitors - pharmacology; ErbB Receptors - antagonists & inhibitors; Female; Flow Cytometry; Humans; lung cancer; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - pathology; Other treatments; ovarian cancer; Ovarian Neoplasms - drug therapy; Ovarian Neoplasms - pathology; paclitaxel; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases - antagonists & inhibitors; thymidine; Treatment. General aspects; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Tumors; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - drug therapy; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - pathology; lung cancer; thymidine; paclitaxel; flow cytometry; doubling time; ovarian cancer; Human; Cell proliferation; Cell culture; Enzyme; Transferases; Treatment efficiency; Quinazoline derivatives; Cytokine; Malignant tumor; In vitro; Epidermal growth factor; Aniline; Polypeptide; Inhibitor; Protein-tyrosine kinase; Growth factor; Quantitative analysis; Biological receptor
• ISSN: 0959-8049; 1879-0852
• DOI: 10.1016/S0959-8049(98)00043-4

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is thought to mediate the action of the mitogens EGF and tumour growth factor-α (TGF-α) in a variety of cancers, including those of the lung, breast and ovary. A number of new selective inhibitors of EGFR tyrosine kinase have now been developed as potential new antitumour agents. We used a potent inhibitor of this tyrosine kinase, 6-amino-4-[(3-bromophenyl)amino]-7-(methylamino)quinazoline (SN 25531; PD 156273), to determine the responses of primary cultures derived from patients with cancer of the lung, ovary, breast, cervix and endometrium. Cells were cultured in 96-well plates and proliferation assessed by incorporation of 3H-thymidine. Measured growth inhibitory concentrations ic 50 values) varied from 1 nM to 14 μM with a 1000-fold differential between sensitive and resistant cultures. Results were compared with rates of proliferation, estimated using a paclitaxel-based method. We also measured the ic 50 values for the tyrosine kinase inhibitor using a number of established human cell lines, and compared them with EGFR content using fluorescent antibody staining and flow cytometry. The presence of EGFR was found to be necessary, but not sufficient, for in vitro response. Only a small number of cell lines (3 of 7 for lung, 1 of 7 for ovarian, 2 of 3 squamous cell and 0 of 12 for melanoma) were sensitive to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor. In contrast, 40 of the 50 primary cultures (including 14 of 15 lung cancer samples and 14 of 19 ovarian cancer samples) were sensitive.