Sunitinib (SU11248) inhibits growth of human ovarian cancer in xenografted mice.

BACKGROUND

Treatment of ovarian cancer is still challenging especially in recurrent platinum refractory cases. Sunitinib is a multi tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting receptors for vascular endothelial growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor which play a role in tumor angiogenesis. It has been approved for the treatment of recurrent gastro intestinal stroma tumors and metastatic renal cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, sunitinib was tested for its effectiveness as a single agent in an ovarian cancer xenograft mouse model. Skov3 cells stably expressing firefly luciferase were injected into SCID beige mice. Mice received either 40 mg/kg bodyweight sunitinib or vehicle control. Tumor growth was monitored longitudinally by luciferase signal.

RESULTS

Sunitinib significantly reduced tumor growth (p=0.0052) and peritoneal metastases, and was associated with a significantly reduced microvessel density count (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that clinical trials are warranted for the evaluation of sunitinib for treatment of patients with recurrent or advanced ovarian cancer.