The potential of PARP as a therapeutic target across pediatric solid malignancies

• Published in: BMC cancer Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 310 - 12
• Main Authors: Keller, Kaylee M., Koetsier, Joost, Schild, Linda, Amo-Addae, Vicky, Eising, Selma, van den Handel, Kim, Ober, Kimberley, Koopmans, Bianca, Essing, Anke, van den Boogaard, Marlinde L., Langenberg, Karin P. S., Jäger, Natalie, Kool, Marcel, Pfister, Stefan, Dolman, M. Emmy M., Molenaar, Jan J., van Hooff, Sander R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 05.04.2023; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adults; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Apoptosis; Biomarkers; Bone cancer; Breast cancer; Cancer in children; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell viability; Cells; Cerebellar Neoplasms - drug therapy; Chemotherapy; Child; DNA damage; DNA repair; Drug development; Drug dosages; Drug screening; Drug therapy; Ewing's sarcoma; Ewings sarcoma; Gene set enrichment analysis; Genes; Genomics; Health aspects; Humans; Malignancy; Medulloblastoma; Molecular targeted therapy; Neuroblastoma; Neuroblastoma - pathology; Osteosarcoma; PARP; Patient outcomes; Pediatric cancer; Pediatrics; Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase; Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Replication stress; Rhabdomyosarcoma; Ribosomes; Sarcoma; Sarcoma, Ewing - drug therapy; Synergy; Therapeutic applications; Therapeutic targets; Tumor cell lines; Netherlands; Pediatric cancer; PARP; Synergy; DNA damage; Replication stress; Ribosomes
• ISSN: 1471-2407; 1471-2407
• DOI: 10.1186/s12885-022-10319-7

Pediatric cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in children and the need for better therapeutic options remains urgent. Due to the limited number of patients, target and drug development for pediatrics is often supplemented by data from studies focused on adult cancers. Recent evidence shows that pediatric cancers possess different vulnerabilities that should be explored independently from adult cancers. Using the publicly available Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer database, we explore therapeutic targets and biomarkers specific to the pediatric solid malignancies Ewing sarcoma, medulloblastoma, neuroblastoma, osteosarcoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma. Results are validated using cell viability assays and high-throughput drug screens are used to identify synergistic combinations. Using published drug screening data, PARP is identified as a drug target of interest across multiple different pediatric malignancies. We validate these findings, and we show that efficacy can be improved when combined with conventional chemotherapeutics, namely topoisomerase inhibitors. Additionally, using gene set enrichment analysis, we identify ribosome biogenesis as a potential biomarker for PARP inhibition in pediatric cancer cell lines. Collectively, our results provide evidence to support the further development of PARP inhibition and the combination with TOP1 inhibition as a therapeutic approach in solid pediatric malignancies. Additionally, we propose ribosome biogenesis as a component to PARP inhibitor sensitivity that should be further investigated to help maximize the potential utility of PARP inhibition and combinations across pediatric solid malignancies.