KAT/3BP: A Metabolism-Targeting Agent with Single and Combination Activity in Aggressive B-Cell Lymphomas

Reprogramming of the cellular metabolism is a hallmark of cancer, offering therapeutic opportunities to target cancer cell vulnerabilities for therapeutic purposes. 3-Bromopyruvate (3BP) is a small alkylating agent that functions as an anti-metabolite, targeting key substrates in cancer metabolism and demonstrating antitumor activity across multiple cancer types. However, unformulated 3BP is associated with significant toxicity. This study investigates the efficacy of KAT/3BP, a clinical derivative of 3BP currently in phase 1 trials for hepatocellular carcinoma, in preclinical lymphoma models.

In vitro, KAT/3BP exhibited cytotoxic activity across 12 lymphoma cell lines-including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma-with a median IC₅₀ of 3.7 μM. It also remained effective against lymphoma cell lines with acquired resistance to FDA-approved therapies. In vivo, treatment with KAT/3BP led to reduced tumor size in a syngeneic mouse model, with the combination of oral and intratumoral administration showing the greatest efficacy. Furthermore, KAT/3BP demonstrated synergistic activity when combined with standard lymphoma therapies such as bendamustine and R-CHOP.

Our findings highlight the potential of KAT/3BP as a novel therapeutic option, either as a single agent or in combination regimens, for treating lymphomas.