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Unlabelled: Despite the impressive clinical activity of the second-generation antiandrogens enzalutamide and ARN-509 in patients with prostate cancer, acquired resistance invariably emerges. To identify the molecular mechanisms underlying acquired resistance, we developed and characterized cell lines resistant to ARN-509 and enzalutamide. In a subset of cell lines, ARN-509 and enzalutamide exhibit agonist activity due to a missense mutation (F876L) in the ligand-binding domain of the androgen receptor (AR). AR F876L is sufficient to confer resistance to ARN-509 and enzalutamide in in vitro and in vivo models of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Importantly, the AR F876L mutant is detected in plasma DNA from ARN-509-treated patients with progressive CRPC. Thus, selective outgrowth of AR F876L is a clinically relevant mechanism of second-generation antiandrogen resistance that can potentially be targeted with next-generation antiandrogens., Significance: A missense mutation in the ligand-binding domain of the androgen receptor F876L confers resistance to the second-generation antiandrogens enzalutamide and ARN-509 in preclinical models of AR function and prostate cancer and is detected in plasma DNA from ARN-509-treated patients with progressive disease. These results chart a new path for the discovery and development of next-generation antiandrogens that could be coupled with a blood-based companion diagnostic to guide treatment decisions., (©2013 AACR.)

Continued reliance on the androgen receptor (AR) is now understood as a core mechanism in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), the most advanced form of this disease. While established and novel AR pathway-targeting agents display clinical efficacy in metastatic CRPC, dose-limiting side effects remain problematic for all current agents. In this study, we report the discovery and development of ARN-509, a competitive AR inhibitor that is fully antagonistic to AR overexpression, a common and important feature of CRPC. ARN-509 was optimized for inhibition of AR transcriptional activity and prostate cancer cell proliferation, pharmacokinetics, and in vivo efficacy. In contrast to bicalutamide, ARN-509 lacked significant agonist activity in preclinical models of CRPC. Moreover, ARN-509 lacked inducing activity for AR nuclear localization or DNA binding. In a clinically valid murine xenograft model of human CRPC, ARN-509 showed greater efficacy than MDV3100. Maximal therapeutic response in this model was achieved at 30 mg/kg/d of ARN-509, whereas the same response required 100 mg/kg/d of MDV3100 and higher steady-state plasma concentrations. Thus, ARN-509 exhibits characteristics predicting a higher therapeutic index with a greater potential to reach maximally efficacious doses in man than current AR antagonists. Our findings offer preclinical proof of principle for ARN-509 as a promising therapeutic in both castration-sensitive and castration-resistant forms of prostate cancer.