Immuno-PET Detects Antibody-Drug Potency on Coadministration with Statins

The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-targeting trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) and trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) are antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) clinically used to treat HER2-positive breast cancer, with the latter receiving clinical approval in 2021 for HER2-positive gastric cancer. Lovastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, temporally elevates cell-surface HER2 in ways that enhance HER2-ADC binding and internalization. Methods: In an NCIN87 gastric xenograft model and a gastric patient-derived xenograft model, we used the ⁸⁹Zr-labeled or ⁶⁴Cu-labeled anti-HER2 antibody trastuzumab to investigate the dosing regimen of ADC therapy with and without coadministration of lovastatin. We compared the ADC efficacy of a multiple-dose ADC regime, which replicates the clinical dose regimen standard, with a single-dose regime. Results: T-DM1/lovastatin treatment inhibited tumor growth, regardless of multiple- or single-dose T-DM1 administration. Coadministration of lovastatin with T-DM1 or T-DXd as a single dose enhanced tumor growth inhibition, which was accompanied by a decrease in signal on HER2-targeted immuno-PET and a decrease in HER2-mediated signaling at the cellular level. DNA damage signaling was increased on ADC treatment in vitro. Conclusion: Our data from a gastric cancer xenograft show the utility of HER2-targeted immuno-PET to inform the tumor response to ADC therapies in combination with modulators of cell-surface target availability. Our studies also demonstrate that statins enhance ADC efficacy in both a cell-line and a patient-derived xenograft model in ways that enable a single-dose administration of the ADC.