Potter, David A.

Abstract Introduction: Epoxy fatty acid (EpFA) mechanisms of hormone therapy resistance (HTR) in ER+HER2- breast cancer (BC) are poorly understood. EETs are EpFAs that contribute to BC progression and HTR by promoting oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). However, it remains unclear how EETs contribute to HTR. In this study, two fulvestrant resistant (FR) subclones of the letrozole resistant (LR) MCF-7AC1 line were isolated (termed LR/FR) and were incidentally resistant to the CDKi palbociclib (PR) (termed MCF-7AC1 LR/FR/PR or multiply resistant - MCF-7AC1 MR). These HTR cell lines exhibited CYP3A4 upregulation (2.3- to 4.3-fold) and increased cellular (±)14,15-EET levels, which were suppressed by biguanide treatment (P<0.05). Structure activity studies led to the design of hexyl cuban-1-yl biguanide (HCB) and fluorinated HCB derivatives C5F2-HCB and C6F3-HCB, which inhibited CYP3A4-mediated EET biosynthesis and growth of the HTR lines. HCB fluorination improved pharmacokinetics (PK) and toxicity. Methods: HCB and fluorinated HCBs were tested for impact on EET biosynthesis, OXPHOS, PK, and growth inhibition and reversal of hypoxia in the MCF-7AC1 MR tumor model. Results: Fulvestrant selection for MCF-7AC1 MR cell lines resulted in undetectable cyclin D1 and estrogen receptor (ERα) expression, while cyclin E1, CDK4, CDK6, CYP3A4, and c-MYC were upregulated (P<0.001). MCF-7 MR cells demonstrated 1.8, 1.4, and 1.2- fold higher levels of (±)8,9, (±)11,12, and (±)14,15-EET compared to parental MCF-7 cells (P<0.05). The most potent fluorinated HCB, C6F3-HCB, suppressed cellular levels of (±)8,9-EET, (±)11,12-EET, and (±)14,15-EET by 53-60% (P<0.029). The MCF-7AC1 MR cells were more potently inhibited by HCBs and fluorinated derivatives compared to the MCF-7 cell line. Comparing an MCF-7 MR line vs. MCF-7, HCB exhibited IC50 values of 4.1 vs. 7.0 uM, C5F2-HCB 10 vs. 25 uM, and C6F3-HCB 5.4 vs. 12 uM (P values all <0.05). C5F2-HCB exhibited the best PK and treatment of the MCF-7AC1 MR xenograft model showed reversal of hypoxia (P<0.05) and transient inhibition by C5F2-HCB (P=0.025 at 20 days). P/F also transiently inhibited this model (P=0.006 at 20 days). C5F2-HCB and P/F showed synergy in vitro (CI=0.46) leading to testing of C5F2-HCB/P/F in vivo enabled by acceptable toxicity of the triplet in mice. This combination showed synergy in vivo vs. standard of care palbociclib/fulvestrant by nonparametric statistical tests (Mann Whitney; P=0.0389; Kolmogorov-Smirnov; P=0.0473), providing a pathway for possible clinical development of the combination. Conclusions: MR BC cell lines exhibit upregulation of CYP3A4 and biosynthesis of EETs, indicating a role for EETs in HTR. The C5F2-HCB/P/F exhibits activity against the highly resistant MCF-7 MR xenograft with acceptable toxicity indicating an avenue for clinical development. Citation Format: Zhijun Guo, Jianxun Lei, Christian T. Wells, Allison M. Makovec, Andrew C. Yates, Swaathi Jayaraman, John R. Hawse, Joshua A. McCarra, Qing Cao, Michael J. Pryzbilla, Brenda L. Koniar, Beverly J. Norris, Craig M. Florey, Robert J. Schumacher, Michael A. Farrar, Kaylee L. Schwertfeger, Elizabeth A. Ambrose, Henry Wong, Gunda I. Georg, Antonino D'Assoro, Matthew P. Goetz, David A. Potter. Fluorinated cuban-1-yl biguanides overcome hormone therapy resistance to standard of care fulvestrant, and palbociclib [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2026; Part 2 (Late-Breaking, Clinical Trial, and Invited Abstracts); 2026 Apr 17-22; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2026;86(8_Suppl):Abstract nr LB196.

Abstract Introduction: Heme-binding biguanides inhibit cytochrome P450 monooxygenase-mediated biosynthesis of the epoxy fatty acid (EpFA) (±)14,15-EET, which promotes progression of ER+HER2- breast cancer as well as regulatory T cell (Treg) proliferation. However, there are no known strategies to exploit this vulnerability. Metformin has shown promise but lacks sufficient potency and clinical utility. Through structure-based design, heme binding hexyl cubane derivatives of metformin were identified, which potently inhibited (±)14,15-EET biosynthesis. Fluorination of the hexyl moiety improved pharmacokinetics (PK) and reduced toxicity. Among the fluorinated derivatives, C5F2-HCB potently inhibited (±)14,15-EET biosynthesis (IC50=3.1 uM for C5F2-HCB vs. 5 mM for metformin). C5F2-HCB and metformin are candidate agents for TME activation from “cold” to “hot” due to their inhibition of EETs biosynthesis and EET-driven oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) which promotes tumor hypoxia. We then tested whether C5F2-HCB or metformin could inhibit immune exclusion in the immunologically “cold” ovarian dependent STAT1 KO SSM2ucd mammary carcinoma model, in part, by reducing Tregs and/or increasing CD8 or CD4 tumor infiltrating T cells (TIL). We hypothesized that biguanides, by reducing EETs, would suppress Tregs and promote effector T cells in the TME. We also hypothesized that C5F2-HCB would be more effective than metformin in modulating the TME, based on greater potency for inhibition of (±)14,15-EET biosynthesis. Both biguanides were tested at their maximum tolerated dose (C5F2-HCB; 18 mg/kg daily and metformin; 50 mg/kg every other day). Results: In the SSM2ucd allograft, all combination treatment groups with biguanides reduced tumor growth relative to the IgG control at the endpoint (day 63) : metformin + IgG (51.5±9.8% of control), C5F2-HCB + IgG (53.3±12.8%), metformin + anti-PD-1 (50.4±11.5%), and C5F2-HCB + anti-PD-1 (49.6±12.8%) [(P < 0.05) for all comparisons]. In contrast, anti-PD-1 antibody alone failed to reduce tumor growth at the endpoint. Flow cytometry analysis of the TME revealed that only C5F2-HCB + IgG treatment increased CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) compared to all other treatment groups (>2-fold; P < 0.05). Additionally, only C5F2-HCB + anti-PD-1 reduced intratumoral Tregs (>3-fold; P < 0.05). C5F2-HCB in combination with IgG or anti-PD-1 reduced intratumoral macrophages by >50% (P < 0.001) and reduced the M2/M1 macrophage ratio by 32-61% (P < 0.05) relative to other groups. No effects on CD4+ T cells were observed. Furthermore, C5F2-HCB and IgG or anti-PD-1 increased intratumoral neutrophils by 75- 120% compared to the anti-PD-1 or IgG (P < 0.05). (Multiple comparisons tested by ANOVA). Conclusion: Relative to IgG alone, C5F2-HCB and metformin inhibited growth of the SSM2ucd allograft in combination with either anti-PD1 or IgG. In contrast to metformin, only C5F2-HCB modulated the TME, including increased CD8+ TILs with IgG, reduced Tregs with anti-PD-1, and decreased M2/M1 macrophage ratio with IgG and anti-PD-1. C5F2-HCB, in contrast tometformin, was effective in modulating an immune excluded TME and may contribute to a strategy for clinical translation. Citation Format: Zhijun Guo, Jianxun Lei, Joshua McCarra, Qing Cao, Michael J. Pryzbilla, Brenda Koniar, Beverly Norris, Robert J. Schumacher, Swaathi Jayaraman, John R. Hawse, Antonino B. D'Assoro, Ilia G. Denisov, Stephen G. Sligar, Kathryn L. Schwertfeger, Michael A. Farrar, Dipak Panigrahy, Hammock D. Bruce, Elizabeth A. Ambrose, Gunda I. Georg, Goetz P. Matthew, David A. Potter. C5F2-hexyl-(cuban-1-yl-methyl)-biguanide (C5F2-HCB) overcomes an immune excluded tumor microenvironment (TME) and suppresses tumor growth in the ovarian dependent ER+HER2- SSM2ucd mammary carcinoma allograft model [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 2 (Late-Breaking, Clinical Trial, and Invited Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_2):Abstract nr LB010.

e12641 Background: Many promising agents or combinations regimens relevant to breast cancer lack sufficient clinical information for use in the neoadjuvant setting. To enable acceleration of drug development by reducing time and cost of clinical trial planning and conduct, the Phase I initiative PRE-ISPY Program was created. Methods: The PRE-ISPY Program is built within the I-SPY network, with the overall aim to streamline the regulatory pathway and the processes of trial design, contracting, activation, enrollment, execution, data gathering and analysis, as well as reporting of new therapeutic agents or combinations of relevance to breast cancer. Results: The PRE-ISPY trial is an open-label platform phase IB study designed to evaluate compelling single agent or combination regimens with the overall goal of moving promising drug regimens into I-SPY2 Trial and/or into other oncology-based trials in a timely manner. Graduation of a PRE-ISPY regimen to I-SPY2 is not mandatory. The primary objectives in each study Arm are to determine safety and to obtain preliminary efficacy data of the new regimen in patients with metastatic cancer, including a cohort of breast cancer patients. Each Arm may contain a Part 1 (dose finding) and a Part 2 (dose expansion). The new treatment can be tested also in patients with other solid malignancies than breast cancer, in which the treatment may be applicable, as specified in the design of the Arm. A breast cancer specific cohort is required in Part 2. Candidate treatment regimens are selected with advice from the I-SPY2 Agent Selection Working Group. The PRE-ISPY/Phase IB trial has multiple ongoing drug regimen Arms subsequently added as new protocol appendices through amendments to a Master protocol. There is no randomization; participants are enrolled, and treatment selected according to the relevance of therapy to their disease. Prospective companion biomarkers are evaluated. The current arms under study are PRE1: ALX-148 combined with trastuzumab deruxtecan; PRE2: tucatinib combined with zanidatamab; and PRE3: vidutolimod combined with cemiplimab. Selected agents or therapeutic combinations are tested through this protocol in the I-SPY Network Centers that participate in the PRE-ISPY Program. Toxicities are graded according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE). Clinical responses are evaluated based on RECIST v1.1 criteria. Conclusions: Once safety is established, promising regimens can be rapidly transitioned to I-SPY 2.2 or other phase 2/3 trials. The first patient was enrolled on 2/1/2023. Clinical trial information: NCT05868226 .

Abstract Introduction: Eicosanoid mediated mechanisms of hormone therapy resistance in ER+HER2- breast cancer are poorly understood. Cytochrome P450 arachidonic acid (AA) epoxygenase-derived epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) contribute to breast cancer progression by promoting mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). However, it remains unclear how EETs contribute to hormonal therapy resistance. In this study, the well-known letrozole resistant (LR) MCF-7 AC1 cell line overexpressing aromatase was selected for fulvestrant resistance (FR). A clonal cell line resistant to letrozole and fulvestrant (LR/FR) also exhibited resistance to palbociclib (PR) (MCF-7 AC1 LR/FR/PR). Xenograft tumors of this cell line were resistant to letrozole, fulvestrant, and palbociclib. Structure activity studies and modeling led to the development of CYP3A4 AA epoxygenase inhibiting biguanides hexyl cuban-1-yl biguanide (HCB) and fluorinated hexyl derivatives C5F2-HCB and C6F3-HCB. Fluorination on the hexyl moiety led to broader inhibition of EET regioisomer biosynthesis. These agents were tested for inhibition of proliferation, signaling, and OXPHOS/glycolysis balance in the MCF-7 AC1 LR/FR/PR cell line. Results: In the MCF-7 AC1 LR/FR/PR clonal cell line cyclin D1 and estrogen receptor (ER) expression were undetectable, while cyclin E1, CDK4, CDK6, CYP3A4, and c-MYC were upregulated 11, 40, 13, 10, and 12- fold (n=3, p<0.001) compared to the MCF-7 cell line. LC-MS analysis demonstrated 1.8, 1.4, and 1.2- fold higher total cellular levels of (±)8,9, (±)11,12, and (±)14,15-EET in the MCF-7 AC1 LR/FR/PR cell line compared to the MCF-7 cell line (n=3, p<0.05). C6F3-HCB suppressed cellular levels of EETs: (±)8,9-EET by 55% (n=3, p<0.031), (±)11,12-EET by 53% (n=3, p<0.029), and (±)14,15-EET by 60% (n=3, P<0.0001). The MCF-7 AC1 LR/FR/PR cell line was more potently inhibited by hexyl-cuban-1-yl biguanides compared to the MCF-7 cell line, exhibiting lower IC50 values (MCF-7 AC1 LR/FR/PR IC50 vs. MCF-7 IC50; HCB 4.1 vs. 7.0 uM; for C5F2-HCB 10 vs. 25 uM; C6F3-HCB: 5.4 vs. 12 uM; P values all <0.05). Measurement of spare respiratory capacity revealed that the MCF-7 AC1 LR/FR/PR cell line had 4.2% spare respiratory capacity compared to 34% for MCF-7, indicating a lower OXPHOS reserve for the resistant cells. Additionally, the MCF-7 AC1 LR/FR/PR cell line displayed a 2.4-fold higher extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) than the MCF-7 cell line, indicating a higher glycolysis rate (Warburg effect) in the resistant cells. Conclusion: Selection for fulvestrant resistance of MCF-7 AC1 cells resulted in upregulation of CYP3A4 and biosynthesis of hormone therapy resistance associated EETs while correlating with greater sensitivity to fluorinated hexyl-cuban-1-yl biguanides that inhibit EET biosynthesis. Citation Format: Zhijun Guo, Jianxun Lei, Allison Makovec, Swaathi Jayaraman, John R. Hawse, Carol Lange, Elizabeth Ambrose, Gunda I. Georg, Tony D'Assoro, Goetz P. Matthew, David A. Potter. Mechanisms of endocrine resistance to letrozole, fulvestrant, and palbociclib are associated with increased sensitivity to hexyl-cuban-1-yl biguanide inhibitors of CYP3A4 mediated epoxyeicosatrienoic acid biosynthesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 2 (Late-Breaking, Clinical Trial, and Invited Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(7_Suppl):Abstract nr LB334.

Abstract Purpose: The neutralizing peptibody trebananib prevents angiopoietin-1 and angiopoietin-2 from binding with Tie2 receptors, inhibiting angiogenesis and proliferation. Trebananib was combined with paclitaxel±trastuzumab in the I-SPY2 breast cancer trial. Patients and Methods: I-SPY2, a phase II neoadjuvant trial, adaptively randomizes patients with high-risk, early-stage breast cancer to one of several experimental therapies or control based on receptor subtypes as defined by hormone receptor (HR) and HER2 status and MammaPrint risk (MP1, MP2). The primary endpoint is pathologic complete response (pCR). A therapy “graduates” if/when it achieves 85% Bayesian probability of success in a phase III trial within a given subtype. Patients received weekly paclitaxel (plus trastuzumab if HER2-positive) without (control) or with weekly intravenous trebananib, followed by doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide and surgery. Pathway-specific biomarkers were assessed for response prediction. Results: There were 134 participants randomized to trebananib and 133 to control. Although trebananib did not graduate in any signature [phase III probabilities: Hazard ratio (HR)-negative (78%), HR-negative/HER2-positive (74%), HR-negative/HER2-negative (77%), and MP2 (79%)], it demonstrated high probability of superior pCR rates over control (92%–99%) among these subtypes. Trebananib improved 3-year event-free survival (HR 0.67), with no significant increase in adverse events. Activation levels of the Tie2 receptor and downstream signaling partners predicted trebananib response in HER2-positive disease; high expression of a CD8 T-cell gene signature predicted response in HR-negative/HER2-negative disease. Conclusions: The angiopoietin (Ang)/Tie2 axis inhibitor trebananib combined with standard neoadjuvant therapy increased estimated pCR rates across HR-negative and MP2 subtypes, with probabilities of superiority >90%. Further study of Ang/Tie2 receptor axis inhibitors in validated, biomarker-predicted sensitive subtypes is warranted.

Abstract Introduction: Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has clinical activity in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) but is less effective in the ER+HER2- signature, where there is a cold immune microenvironment (IM) and regulatory T cells (Tregs) may suppress effector T cells. Agents that activate the IM by turning cold tumors hot may support ICB. The biguanides hexyl-benzyl-biguanide (HBB) and its bioisostere hexyl-(cuban-1-yl-methyl)-biguanide (HCB) are candidate agents to activate the IM because they potently inhibit biosynthesis of immunosuppressive epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) and EET-driven oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), while blocking N-glycosylation of immune checkpoint (IC) proteins. We hypothesized that reversal of hypoxia by biguanides in the ovarian dependent ER+HER2- STAT1 KO SSM2ucd mouse mammary carcinoma (MC) model would suppress Tregs and promote effector T cells in the tumor IM. While the SSM2ucd model did not express immune checkpoint protein PD-L1 (B7-H1), it did express related IC proteins B7-H3 and B7-H4. We hypothesized that by inhibiting OXPHOS and reducing N-glycosylation of immune checkpoint proteins, HBB and HCB may promote efficacy of ICB. We chose the SSM2ucd model to test impact of HCB on the ER+ MC IM. Results: SSM2ucd cells exhibited longer tumor latency (60 days) than the basal 4T1 (10 days) and 67NR (20 days) mouse MC models. SSM2ucd tumor reimplantation shortened latency by more than half, to 20 days. Immunohistochemistry showed that B7-H3 and B7-H4 protein levels were 1.2 (P=0.001) and 1.3-fold (P=0.04) higher in reimplanted tumors vs. control. In SSM2ucd cells, HCB inhibited N-glycosylation of B7-H3 (P=0.01) by 35% and B7-H4 (P=0.02) by 45% and suppressed TGFβ induction of B7-H3 by 21% (P=0.02) and B7-H4 by 79% (P=0.001) at 24 hours, while 14,15-EET promoted N-glycosylation of B7-H3 (1.2-fold; P=0.03) and B7-H4 (1.3-fold; P=0.04) at 4 hours. Effects of HBB and HCB on anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 stimulated mouse splenocytes were assayed. The proliferative effects of HBB on CD4+ and CD8+ cells peaked at 12 uM (p<0.001) and for HCB at 6.25 uM (p<0.001). Tregs decreased with HCB at a threshold of 12 uM (p <0.001) and with HBB at 25 uM (P < 0.001) while 14,15-EET increased Tregs (1.2 fold; P=0.02) and suppressed the CD8+:Treg ratio (0.79; P=0.02). In the SSM2ucd mammary allograft model, although HCB 12mg/kg daily did not inhibit tumor growth, it reduced intratumoral hypoxia by 20% (P=0.01), increased CD8+ TIL by 4.4-fold (P=0.04), decreased Treg:CD4+ TIL ratio by 76% (P=0.02), and decreased Treg:CD8+ TIL ratio by 88% (P=0.01) relative to control. Conclusion: B7-H3 and B7-H4 expression inversely correlated with latency of ER+ MC and may represent targets for immune checkpoint antibodies and their drug conjugates. HCB, an inhibitor of OXPHOS and EET biosynthesis, reduced intratumoral hypoxia, increased CD8+ TIL and reduced the Treg:CD8+ ratio, potentially supporting ICB therapy of ER+ MC by turning cold tumors hot. Supported by CDMRP BCRP Grant BC180596, Award Number W81XWH-19-1-0099 Citation Format: Zhijun Guo, Jianxun Lei, Hrishi Venkatesh, David Owen, Adam Bass, Christine Cannon, Joshua McCarra, Brenda Koniar, Craig Flory, Beverly Norris, Robert J. Schumacher, Swaathi Jayaraman, John Hawse, Emmanuel S. Antonarakis, Emanuel F. Petricoin, Julia Wulfkuhle, Robert D. Cardiff, Elizabeth A. Ambrose, Gunda I. Georg, Kaylee L. Schwertfeger, Michael A. Farrar, Brad St. Croix, Matthew P. Goetz, David A. Potter. Hexyl-(cuban-1-yl-methyl)-biguanide (HCB) suppresses N-glycosylation of immune checkpoint proteins B7-H3 and B7-H4, reverses tumor hypoxia, decreases intratumoral regulatory T cells, and increases intratumoral CD8+ T cells in the ovarian dependent ER+HER2- SSM2ucd mammary cancer allograft model [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 2 (Clinical Trials and Late-Breaking Research); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(8_Suppl):Abstract nr LB102.

Abstract While epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) have been implicated in breast cancer growth and progression, less is known about their effects on oncogene transcription. We have previously found that the oncogenic regioisomer (±)14,15-EET drives mitochondrial respiration, ATP synthesis, and proliferation of ER+/HER2- breast cancer cells [Cell Chem Biol. 2017 Oct 19;24(10):1259-1275]. RNAseq analysis was performed (5 replicates per condition) on serum starved (16 hours) MCF-7 cells which were then treated with (±)14,15-EET or vehicle (2 hours; serum and phenol red free medium without estradiol). Using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), we found that (±)14,15-EET activated an estrogen receptor alpha (ER) hallmark early response gene set and synchronously activated a MYC hallmark gene set. With activation of the MYC hallmark gene set, c-Myc gene expression was also induced at 2 hours (3.99-fold; P=2.3 x 10-17; FDR=2.8 x 10-14). These data suggest an alternative pathway for activation of estrogen and MYC regulated genes in the absence of estradiol. The 15 genes most transcriptionally activated by (±)14,15-EET at 2 hours were: VMP1, ZFP36, JUNB, FOS, IER3, EGR1, IER5L, ELF3, JUN, NR4A1, HES1, DUSP1, MYC, TOB1, and CITED2 [fold change range: 3.25 (CITED2) to 90.5 (FOS); all P< 2.86 x 10-17; all FDR < 3.03 x 10-14]. The ER regulated genes most transcriptionally activated (>1.5 fold) were: IER3, TOB1, AREG, CISH, KCNMB3, and PDK4 (fold change range: 1.77 to 4.35; P= 1.74 x 10-18 to 1.35 x 10-5; FDR=5.54 x 10-15 to 6.4 x 10-4). The MYC regulated genes most transcriptionally activated (> 1.5-fold change) were EIF4A1 (fold change= 2.37; P=1.0 x 10-7; FDR=1.33 x 10-5), IRF9 (fold change=1.58; P=0.0044; FDR= 0.026), and FOSL1 (fold change=1.51; P=0.008; FDR=0.04). Supporting the hypothesis of (±)14,15-EET activation of ER-regulated transcription, (±)14,15-EET promoted nuclear translocation of ER at 1 hour measured by DAPI normalized immunofluorescence [MCF-7 nuclear ER increase of 1.66-fold (P=0.031); ZR75-1 nuclear ER increase of 1.77-fold (P=0.015)]. Supporting the hypothesis of (±)14,15-EET activation of MYC-regulated transcription, (±)14,15-EET treatment promoted nuclear translocation of c-Myc with MCF-7 cells exhibiting a 1.22-fold increase at 2 hours (P=0.002). (±)14,15-EET also promoted nuclear translocation of FITC-70 kDa dextran with MCF-7 cells exhibiting an increase of 1.35-fold at 1 hour (P=0.029). These data suggest that (±)14,15-EET can induce an estradiol-like immediate early gene response in ER+/HER2- breast cancer cells correlating with c-Myc activation. In summary, while the effect of (±)14,15-EET on nuclear translocation may be partially cargo agnostic, (±)14,15-EET promotes ER and c-Myc nuclear translocation and associated transcription, mimicking a tandem hormonal and growth factor response. Citation Format: Jianxun Lei, Zhijun Guo, Julissa Molina-Vega, Paloma Cervantes, Swaathi Jayaraman, John R. Hawse, Carlos Perez, Juan Abrahante, Xiaojia Tang, Krishna Kalari, Jinhua Wang, John R. Falck, Carol Lange, Matthew P. Goetz, David Potter. (±) 14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid induces hallmark ER and MYC gene expression and associated ER and c-Myc nuclear translocation in ER+/HER2- breast cancer cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr LB564.

Abstract Background: I-SPY 2 is a multicenter, phase 2 trial using response-adaptive randomization within molecular subtypes defined by receptor status and MammaPrint (MP) risk to evaluate novel agents as neoadjuvant therapy for women with high-risk breast cancer. Tucatinib is a potent HER2 (ErbB2) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, selective for HER2 vs. epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and is active vs. brain metastases. Safety and efficacy of tucatinib combined with paclitaxel, pertuzumab, and trastuzumab are unknown and were tested in a planned 10 patient (pt) safety run-in of the I-SPY 2 trial. Methods: Women with tumors ≥ 2.5cm were eligible for screening. Only pts with tumors that were HER2+ by FISH were eligible for this treatment. Treatment included tucatinib (max dose 300 mg) BID for 12 weeks with weekly paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 and trastuzumab (2 mg/kg weekly following loading), and pertuzumab (420 mg every 3 weeks following loading), followed by doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (AC) every 2 weeks x 4. The control arm was weekly paclitaxel and trastuzumab with pertuzumab for 12 weeks followed by AC every 2 weeks x 4. All pts undergo serial MR imaging and response at 3 & 12 weeks is combined with real time pCR data to estimate, and continuously update, the predicted pCR rate for each trial arm. The goal of the trial is to identify/graduate regimens with ≥85.% Bayesian predictive probability of success (i.e. demonstrating superiority to control) in a future 300-patient phase 3 neoadjuvant trial with a pCR endpoint. This run-in arm was conducted to determine safety of combining tucatinib with paclitaxel/trastuzumab/pertuzumab, monitoring special adverse events of interest including LFT elevations and gastrointestinal toxicities.Methods: The I-SPY 2 methods have been previously published. Results: 20 pts were evaluable in tucatinib treatment arm. The control arm included 329 historical controls enrolled since April 2010. The initial tucatinib dose was 300 mg BID. After enrollment of the first 8 pts, there were 3 pts with grade 3 LFT elevations, 2 pts with grade 2/3 diarrhea, 1 pt with grade 2 neutropenia, and 1 pt with grade 3 nausea. After this safety review, the tucatinib dose was lowered to 250 mg BID. Among 5 additional pts enrolled, 3 developed grade 2/3 LFT abnormalities. The protocol was then modified to tucatinib 150 mg BID days 1-28 and then 250 mg BID days 29-84; 7 pts were treated. Safety data were reviewed after 20 pts were enrolled; the arm was then suspended due to similar LFT elevations regardless of tucatinib dose reduction or schedule. 7 of 20 pts (35%) had reversible Grade 3 or higher ALT/AST elevation (Table). No pt met criteria for Hy’s Law. In terms of efficacy, 12 of 14 evaluable pts had > 80% reduction of tumor volume by 12 weeks, measured by MRI assessment of functional tumor volume (FTV). Conclusion: The goal of the run-in arm was to determine the safety of adding tucatinib to the combination of paclitaxel/trastuzumab/pertuzumab. The addition of tucatinib resulted in unacceptable but reversible LFT elevations despite tucatinib dose reduction. Tucatinib containing therapy resulted in >80% decline in tumor volume at 12 weeks in 86% of pts. Tucatinib showed a high level of activity when combined with paclitaxel/trastuzumab/pertuzumab, but the combination is not feasible. Table: Number of pts with grade 2, 3, and 4 LFT elevations by treatment schedule (highest grade per patient per event, ALT or Treatment scheduleGrade 2 LFT elevationGrade 3 LFT elevationGrade 4 LFT elevationTucatinib 300 mg BID030Tucatinib 250 mg BID210Tucatinib 150 mg BID days 1-28 followed by 250 mg BID days 29 to 84112 Citation Format: David A Potter, Erin Roesch, Christina Yau, Ruixiao Lu, Denise Wolf, Susan Samson, Debra Stafford, Kathy S Albain, Claudine Isaacs, Meghana Trivedi, Douglas Yee, Judy Boughey, Alexandra Thomas, A. Jo Chien, Nola Hylton, Wen Li, Angela DeMichele, Jane Perlmutter, W. Fraser Symmans, Dawn L Hershman, Michelle Melisko, Laura J van 't Veer, Amy Wilson, Smita M Asare, Donald A Berry, Richard Schwab, Hope S Rugo, Laura J Esserman. Evaluation of Tucatinib + (Paclitaxel + Pertuzumab + Trastuzumab) followed by AC in high-risk HER2 positive (HER2+) stage II/III breast cancer: Results from the I-SPY 2 TRIAL [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD8-07.

Abstract Introduction: Small molecule therapeutics of estrogen receptor-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer remains an area of active investigation where novel agents are greatly needed for treatment of hormone therapy resistant metastatic disease. The biguanide hexyl-benzyl-biguanide (HBB) is a potent inhibitor of CYP3A4 arachidonic acid (AA) epoxygenase activity and inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation and MCF-7 breast cancer tumor growth in nude mice. To explore the impact of bioisosteric substitution of the benzyl moiety of HBB with a cubane moiety, we synthesized hexyl-(cuban-1-yl-methyl)-biguanide (HCB) and tested its potency for the inhibition of the cognate CYP3A4 target AA epoxygenase activity as well as breast cancer cell proliferation of hormone therapy sensitive and resistant cell lines. Results: HCB selectively inhibited CYP3A4-mediated biosynthesis of (±)-14,15-EET with an IC50 of 4.7±0.2 uM vs. 64.8±6.5 uM for 8,9-EET and 26.5±1.9 uM for 11,12-EET. At 24 hours, HCB inhibited proliferation of MCF-7 (ER+HER2-), BT474 (ER+HER2+) and MDA-MB-231 (ER-HER2-) cells at IC50 of 8.4±1.2, 11±1.3 and 15±0.9 uM, respectively. At 48 hours, HCB inhibited proliferation of aromatase inhibitor and fulvestrant resistant (LR,FR), and cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKi) palbociclib resistant (LR,FR,PR) MCF-7 cell lines; LR,FR MCF-7AC1 (IC50 =1.34±0.1 uM) and LR,FR,PR MCF-7AC1 (IC50 =1.64±0.2 uM). Addition of 14,15-EET (1 uM) partially rescues MCF-7 cells from HCB-mediated inhibition of proliferation. OXPHOS is promoted, in part, by EETs. HCB is a potent OXPHOS inhibitor and rapidly inhibits O2 consumption of the MCF-7 and ZR75 (ER+HER2-) cells in a dose-dependent fashion (P<0.05). HCB treatment (10 uM) reduces mitochondrial membrane potential to 57.4±15.3% (P<0.001) of vehicle control in MCF-7 cells. Treatment with HCB at 20 uM for 0.5 hour also causes mitochondrial swelling in MCF-7 cells. HCB (10 uM) activates AMPK within 0.5 hour and increases the level of phosphorylation from 2.4±0.3 to 25.1±6.0 folds in a time dependent fashion in MCF-7 cells from 0.5-24 hours. Conclusion: These results show that HCB inhibits proliferation of ER+HER2- breast cancer cells, in part through inhibition of OXPHOS and suppression of the CYP product 14,15-EET. This inhibition is highly active in hormonal therapy and CDKi resistant ER+HER2- breast cancer cells. These results suggest that HCB is a novel and potent biguanide that has potential to be developed for inhibition of hormone therapy resistant and CDKi resistant breast cancer. Citation Format: Zhijun Guo, Jianxun Lei, Kwon Ho Hong, Beverly Norris, Craig M. Flory, Swaathi Jayaraman, Connor McDermott, Elizabeth Ambrose, Irina Sevrioukova, Tom Poulos, Ilia Denisov, Stephen Sliga, Robert J. Schumacher, Gunda I. Georg, John R. Hawse, Matthew P. Goetz, David A. Potter. Hexyl-(cuban-1-yl-methyl)-biguanide (HCB) inhibits hormone therapy resistant breast cancer cells, in part by Inhibiting CYP3A4 arachidonic acid epoxygenase activity [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr LB078.

Abstract Purpose: This open-label, multicenter, phase IB/II study evaluated sapanisertib, a dual inhibitor of mTOR kinase complexes 1/2, plus exemestane or fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive (HR+)/HER2-negative (HER2−) advanced/metastatic breast cancer. Patients and Methods: Eligible patients had previously progressed on everolimus with exemestane/fulvestrant and received ≤3 (phase IB) or ≤1 (phase II) prior chemotherapy regimens. Patients received sapanisertib 3 to 5 mg every day (phase IB), or 4 mg every day (phase II) with exemestane 25 mg every day or fulvestrant 500 mg monthly in 28-day cycles. Phase II enrolled parallel cohorts based on prior response to everolimus. The primary objective of phase II was to evaluate antitumor activity by clinical benefit rate at 16 weeks (CBR-16). Results: Overall, 118 patients enrolled in phase IB (n = 24) and II (n = 94). Five patients in phase IB experienced dose-limiting toxicities, at sapanisertib doses of 5 mg every day (n = 4) and 4 mg every day (n = 1); sapanisertib 4 mg every day was the MTD in combination with exemestane or fulvestrant. In phase II, in everolimus-sensitive versus everolimus-resistant cohorts, CBR-16 was 45% versus 23%, and overall response rate was 8% versus 2%, respectively. The most common adverse events were nausea (52%), fatigue (47%), diarrhea (37%), and hyperglycemia (33%); rash occurred in 17% of patients. Molecular analysis suggested positive association between AKT1 mutation status and best treatment response (complete + partial response; P = 0.0262). Conclusions: Sapanisertib plus exemestane or fulvestrant was well tolerated and exhibited clinical benefit in postmenopausal women with pretreated everolimus-sensitive or everolimus-resistant breast cancer.