Study Confirms Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptors as Targets for Pancreatic Cancer Treatment

Roswell Park researchers identify characteristics of FGFRs that may aid in development of personalized treatments for pancreatic cancer

Highlights
  • Researchers have confirmed that FGFRs can be used as treatment targets
  • Findings may aid in development of personalized therapies for pancreatic cancer
  • One clinical study testing dovitinib accruing now; another to open in early 2014

BUFFALO, NY — Proteins called fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) have been implicated in the development of pancreatic cancer, which remains difficult to treat. Researchers at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Roswell Park) have now confirmed that FGFRs can be used as treatment targets in preclinical studies, and have identified certain molecular characteristics that could be useful in developing personalized treatments for patients with pancreatic cancer. Study results have been published online first in the British Journal of Cancer.

“The FGFR signaling pathway is a valid target in pancreatic cancer, and this study may have revealed a tool that we can use to personalize the treatment of pancreatic cancer in the future,” said Wen Wee Ma, MBBS, assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at Roswell Park.

Ma and colleagues evaluated whether the FGFR signaling pathway could be interrupted or targeted to slow or halt the progression of pancreatic cancer. They also determined whether certain molecular characteristics of the cancer make it more vulnerable to the effects of treatment with an FGFR-targeting drug, such as dovitinib. FGFR signaling was shown to be a valid therapeutic target using complementary cancer models from cell lines and pancreatic tumors.

“The tumors derived from patients mirror the heterogeneous biological and molecular characteristics of the donor patients and provide a more accurate reflection than cell lines of the effects of treatment in human patients,” Ma said.

Inhibiting FGFR signaling using dovitinib achieved significant anticancer effects. The effect was more pronounced in pancreatic cancers that expressed a specific subtype of FGFR called FGFR2 IIIb. Eventually, that information could help clinicians identify patients who would be more likely to benefit from treatment with dovitinib.

Two clinical trials evaluating dovitinib are currently underway at Roswell Park, and researchers hope to incorporate the findings from this study in the ongoing development of the treatment. The first trial, Phase I Study of Dovitinib (TKI258) in Combination With Gemcitabine and Capecitabine in Advanced Solid Tumors, Pancreatic Cancer and Biliary Cancers, is still accruing patients and can be found at ClinicalTrials.gov (search for Study NCT01497392). The second trial evaluates dovitinib with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel and is planned to be available to pancreatic cancer patients in early 2014.

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The mission of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1898, Roswell Park is one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email AskRoswell@Roswellpark.org. Follow Roswell Park on Facebook and Twitter.

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Annie Deck-Miller, Senior Media Relations Manager
716-845-8593; annie.deck-miller@roswellpark.org