Preclinical testing of tandutinib in a transgenic medulloblastoma mouse model

Overexpression of platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFR-A) has been documented in association with primary tumors and metastasis in medulloblastoma. Tumors from our genetically engineered sonic hedgehog-driven medulloblastoma mouse model overexpress PDGFR-A in primary tumors and thus this mouse model is a good platform with which to study the role of PDGFR-A in this central nervous system malignancy. We hypothesized that inhibition of PDGFR-A in medulloblastoma can slow or inhibit tumor progression in living individuals. To test our hypothesis, we targeted PDGFR-A mediated tumor growth in vitro and in vivo using the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, tandutinib (MLN-518), which strongly inhibits PDGFR-A. Although PDGFR-A inhibition by this agent resulted in reduced mouse tumor cell growth and increased apoptosis in vitro, and reduced tumor cell proliferation in vivo, tandutinib did reduce tumor volume at the doses tested (360 mg/kg) in vivo. Thus, tandutinib may be an agent of interest for sonic hedgehog-driven medulloblastoma if a synergistic drug combination can be identified.