Differential Radiosensitization in DNA Mismatch Repair-Proficient and -Deficient Human Colon Cancer Xenografts with 5-Iodo-2-pyrimidinone-2′-deoxyribose

Purpose: 5-Iodo-2-pyrimidinone-2′-deoxyribose (IPdR) is a pyrimidinone nucleoside prodrug of 5-iododeoxyuridine (IUdR) under investigation as an orally administered radiosensitizer. We previously reported that the mismatch repair (MMR) proteins (both hMSH2 and hMLH1) impact on the extent (percentage) of IUdR-DNA incorporation and subsequent in vitro IUdR-mediated radiosensitization in human tumor cell lines. In this study, we used oral IPdR to assess in vivo radiosensitization in MMR-proficient (MMR + ) and -deficient (MMR − ) human colon cancer xenografts. Experimental Design: We tested whether oral IPdR treatment (1 g/kg/d for 14 days) can result in differential IUdR incorporation in tumor cell DNA and subsequent radiosensitization after a short course (every day for 4 days) of fractionated radiation therapy, by using athymic nude mice with an isogenic pair of human colon cancer xenografts, HCT116 (MMR − , hMLH1 − ) and HCT116/3-6 (MMR + , hMLH1 + ). A tumor regrowth assay was used to assess radiosensitization. Systemic toxicity was assessed by daily body weights and by percentage of IUdR-DNA incorporation in normal bone marrow and intestine. Results: After a 14-day once-daily IPdR treatment by gastric gavage, significantly higher IUdR-DNA incorporation was found in HCT116 (MMR − ) tumor xenografts compared with HCT116/3-6 (MMR + ) tumor xenografts. Using a tumor regrowth assay after the 14-day drug treatment and a 4-day radiation therapy course (days 11–14 of IPdR), we found substantial radiosensitization in both HCT116 and HCT116/3-6 tumor xenografts. However, the sensitizer enhancement ratio (SER) was substantially higher in HCT116 (MMR − ) tumor xenografts (1.48 at 2 Gy per fraction, 1.41 at 4 Gy per fraction), compared with HCT116/3-6 (MMR + ) tumor xenografts (1.21 at 2 Gy per fraction, 1.20 at 4 Gy per fraction). No substantial systemic toxicity was found in the treatment groups. Conclusions: These results suggest that IPdR-mediated radiosensitization can be an effective in vivo approach to treat “drug-resistant” MMR-deficient tumors as well as MMR-proficient tumors.