F-FDG PET as an imaging biomarker for the response to FGFR-targeted therapy of cancer cells via FGFR-initiated mTOR/HK2 axis.

The overall clinical response to FGFR inhibitor (FGFRi) is far from satisfactory in cancer patients stratified by FGFR aberration, the current biomarker in clinical practice. A novel biomarker to evaluate the therapeutic response to FGFRi in a non-invasive and dynamic manner is thus greatly desired. Six FGFR-aberrant cancer cell lines were used, including four FGFRi-sensitive ones (NCI-H1581, NCI-H716, RT112 and Hep3B) and two FGFRi-resistant ones (primary for NCI-H2444 and acquired for NCI-H1581/AR). Cell viability and tumor xenograft growth analyses were performed to evaluate FGFRi sensitivities, accompanied by corresponding F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) uptake assay. mTOR/PLCγ/MEK-ERK signaling blockade by specific inhibitors or siRNAs was applied to determine the regulation mechanism. FGFR inhibition decreased the accumulation of F-FDG only in four FGFRi-sensitive cell lines, but in neither of FGFRi-resistant ones. We then demonstrated that FGFRi-induced transcriptional downregulation of hexokinase 2 (HK2), a key factor of glucose metabolism and FDG trapping, via mTOR pathway leading to this decrease. Moreover, F-FDG PET imaging successfully differentiated the FGFRi-sensitive tumor xenografts from primary or acquired resistant ones by the tumor F-FDG accumulation change upon FGFRi treatment. Of note, both F-FDG tumor accumulation and HK2 expression could respond the administration/withdrawal of FGFRi in NCI-H1581 xenografts correspondingly. The novel association between the molecular mechanism (FGFR/mTOR/HK2 axis) and radiological phenotype (F-FDG PET uptake) of FGFR-targeted therapy was demonstrated in multiple preclinical models. The adoption of F-FDG PET biomarker-based imaging strategy to assess response/resistance to FGFR inhibition may benefit treatment selection for cancer patients.