Abstract 2669: Identification of a novel small-molecule inhibitor for treatment of human colon cancer patients

As the representative targeted anticancer drug for colon cancer patients, Erbitux is the EGFR targeted therapeutic antibody and used for treatment of KRAS wild-type colon cancer patients. Even some patients with KRas wt gene did not respond to Erbitux. However, there is no treatment available for Erbitux-resistant patient group with KRAS WT gene, which is almost 50% of KRAS WT gene holders. Recently, our team identified Erbitux primary resistant related proteins named as CRG (Cetuximab-Resistant Gene) by array analysis based Erbitux responder or nonresponder colon cancer patients derived tissues and confirmed by in vitro and in vivo assay system. Based on these results, we synthesized a novel series of CRG targeted inhibitor. CRG inhibitor (CRG i;WM compound) is a lead compound for treating colon cancer patients who do not respond to Erbitux and have KRAS wild-type gene. CRG i has potent in vitro enzyme activity and high anticancer activity against various colon cancer cell lines with good selectivity in in vitro and in vivo system. Furthermore, the compound has good potent ADME/Tox. profiles for optimized lead. CRG i also displays strong anticancer effect in in vivo xenograft models and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. In addition, CRG i shows promising signs of overcoming Erbitux resistance in CRG knockout cells-derived xenograft model. We continue to discover improved preclinical candidates with better selectivity and ADME/Tox. profiles and validate predictive biomarker in colon cancer patients. In these efforts, we found some compounds with better profiles than CRG i. We are also trying to develop small molecules having highly potent activity against mutant CRG. In conclusion, active CRG is a promising biomarker and target for Erbitux-resistant KRAS wt colon cancer patients. Our compounds can be promising therapeutic agents for Erbitux-resistant KRAS wt colon cancer patients. Citation Format: Chun-Ho Park, Sun-Chul Hur, Joseph Kim, Dae Hee Lee, Yoon Sun Park, Jae-Sik Shin, Seung-Woo Hong, Jai-Hee Moon, Hyojin Kim, So Hee Lee, Hyebin Park, Joonyee Jung, Mi Jin Kim, Sang Soo Park, Jun Ki Hong, Ji Hee Gong, Jieun Kim, Il-Whea Ku, Hyun Ho Lee, Dong-Hoon Jin. Identification of a novel small-molecule inhibitor for treatment of human colon cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2669.