Inhibition of the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor potentiates acute effects of castration in a rat model for prostate cancer growth in bone

Prostate cancer (PCa) patients with bone metastases are primarily treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Less pronounced ADT effects are seen in metastases than in primary tumors. To test if acute effects of ADT was enhanced by concurrent inhibition of pro-survival insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), rats were inoculated with Dunning R3327-G tumor cells into the tibial bone marrow cavity and established tumors were treated with castration in combination with IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) inhibitor NVP-AEW541, or by each treatment alone. Dunning R3327-G cells were stimulated by androgens and IGF-1 in vitro. In rat tibia, Dunning R3327-G cells induced bone remodeling, identified through increased immunoreactivity of osteoblast and osteoclast markers. Tumor cells occasionally grew outside the tibia, and proliferation and apoptotic rates a few days after treatment were evaluated by scoring BrdU- and caspase-3-positive tumor cells inside and outside the bone marrow cavity, separately. Apoptosis was significantly induced outside, but unaffected inside, the tibial bone by either castration or NVP-AEW541, and the maximum increase (2.7-fold) was obtained by the combined treatment. Proliferation was significantly reduced by NVP-AEW541, independently of growth site, although the maximum decrease (24%) was observed when NVP-AEW541 was combined with castration. Tumor cell IGF-1R immunoreactivity was evaluated in clinical PCa bone metastases (n = 61), and positive staining was observed in most cases (74%). In conclusion, IGF-1R inhibition may be evaluated in combination with ADT in patients with metastatic PCa, or in combination with therapies for the subsequent development of castration-resistant disease, although diverse responses could be anticipated depending on metastasis site. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10585-017-9848-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.