Evaluation of the risk of diarrhea induced by epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors with cultured intestinal stem cells originated from crypts in humans and monkeys

Severe diarrhea is a common side effect of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs). We aimed to evaluate the risk of EGFR-TKI-induced diarrhea using spheroids of human and monkey crypt-derived intestinal stem cells. Intestinal spheroids exhibited higher toxic susceptibility to EGFR-TKIs than Caco-2 cells. As concentration of EGFR-TKIs increased, cellular ATP first decreased relative to the control condition, followed by an increase in LDH release, in contrast with their simultaneous changes with traditional cytotoxic anticancer drugs. The toxic sensitivity of spheroids to various EGFR-TKIs corresponded to clinical diarrhea incidence. Afatinib, a second-generation EGFR-TKI, exhibited higher toxic sensitivity compared with the first-generation ones, corresponding to the clinical evidence that afatinib-induced diarrhea is almost inevitable and severe. By contrast, the third-generation osimertinib, which reduces the risk of diarrhea, showed mitigated cytotoxicity compared with afatinib. For irreversible EGFR-TKIs, the decreased ATP level persisted or its recovery was delayed even after drug removal compared with reversible ones. Furthermore, the highest drug accumulation in spheroids (TKIspheroids) and inhibition potency against EGFR (TKIspheroids/Ki) were observed for afatinib. This system would be useful for predicting the risk of EGFR-TKI-induced diarrhea; moreover, on-target cytotoxicity against intestinal stem cells might contribute to clinically observed diarrhea. •Intestinal spheroids of stem cells showed higher toxic sensitivity to EGFR-TKIs than Caco-2 cells.•Toxic sensitivity to various EGFR-TKIs in spheroids corresponded to their clinical diarrhea incidence.•Cytotoxicity in spheroids was related to mode of inhibition and on-target inhibition potency against EGFR.•On-target cytotoxicity against intestinal stem cells might contribute to the onset of diarrhea induced by EGFR-TKIs.