Inhibition of growth and metastasis of human pancreatic cancer growing in nude mice by PTK 787/ZK222584, an inhibitor of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases

Since vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a major role in tumor angiogenesis, we determined whether blockage of VEGF receptor signaling using a novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor (PTK 787) decreases the growth and metastasis of human pancreatic carcinoma growing orthotopically in nude mice. Human pancreatic L3.6pl cells were injected into the pancreas of nude mice. Seven days later, groups of mice were given daily oral administrations of PTK 787 alone, twice weekly i.p. injections of gemcitabine, or combination therapy. The mice were necropsied when control mice became moribund (day 35). Therapy with PTK 787 alone, gemcitabine alone, or the combination of both agents produced respectively 60%, 70%, and 81% inhibition in the volume of pancreatic cancers. The combination therapy significantly decreased the incidence of lymph node and liver metastasis, leading to a significant increase in survival. Microvessel density (MVD) was significantly decreased in tumors treated with either PTK 787 alone or PTK 787 plus gemcitabine. MVD directly, correlated with tumor cell proliferation and inversely correlated with apoptosis of tumor cells and associated endothelial cells. Collectively, our results demonstrate that blockade of VEGF-R signaling may provide an additional approach to the therapy of pancreatic cancer.