Preclinical evaluation of drug combinations identifies co-inhibition of Bcl-2/XL/W and MDM2 as a potential therapy in uveal melanoma

Abstract Introduction Uveal melanoma (UM) is a rare and malignant intraocular tumour with a dismal prognosis. Despite a good control of the primary tumour by radiation or surgery, up to 50% of patients subsequently develop metastasis for which no efficient treatment is yet available. Methodology To identify therapeutic opportunities, we performed an in vitro screen of 30 combinations of different inhibitors of pathways that are dysregulated in UM. Effects of drug combinations on viability, cell cycle and apoptosis were assessed in eight UM cell lines. The best synergistic combinations were further evaluated in six UM patient-derived xenografts (PDXs). Results We demonstrated that the Bcl-2/XL/W inhibitor (ABT263) sensitised the UM cell lines to other inhibitors, mainly to mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) and murine double minute 2 (MDM2) inhibitors. mTOR (RAD001) and MEK1/2 (trametinib) inhibitors were efficient as single agents, but their combinations with ABT263 displayed no synergism in UM PDXs. In contrast, the combination of ABT263 with MDM2 inhibitor (HDM201) showed a trend for a synergistic effect. Conclusion We showed that inhibition of Bcl-2/XL/W sensitised the UM cell lines to other treatments encouraging investigation of the underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, our findings highlighted Bcl-2/XL/W and MDM2 co-inhibition as a promising strategy in UM.