Herceptin Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Herceptin, including details on side-effects, breast cancer, treatment, therapy.

Discovery and pharmacologic characterization of CP-724,714, a selective ErbB2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Jani JP, Finn RS, Campbell M, Coleman KG, Connell RD, Currier N, Emerson EO, Floyd E, Harriman S, Kath JC, Morris J, Moyer JD, Pustilnik LR, Rafidi K, Ralston S, Rossi AM, Steyn SJ, Wagner L, Winter SM, Bhattacharya SK

Department of Cancer Discovery, Pfizer Global Research and Development, Groton, Connecticut 06340, USA.

Amplification and overexpression of erbB2 (Her-2/neu) proto-oncogene has been linked to human malignancies including tumors of the breast, ovary, and stomach. It has been implicated in tumor growth, sensitivity to standard chemotherapy, prognosis of patients, and disease-free survival. Although the clinical use of trastuzumab (Herceptin) has prolonged the survival of breast cancer patients with erbB2-overexpressing tumors, there is an urgent need for more potent and orally bioavailable small-molecule inhibitors. CP-724,714 is a potent inhibitor of erbB2 receptor autophosphorylation in intact cells and is currently undergoing phase I clinical trials. Here, we describe the effects of CP-724,714 in vitro and in vivo in human breast cancer models. CP-724,714 is selective for inhibiting growth of HER2-driven cell lines. In addition, we show that it induces G1 cell cycle block in erbB2-overexpressing BT-474 human breast carcinoma cells and inhibits erbB2 autophosphorylation in xenografts when administered p.o. to athymic mice. It induces a marked reduction of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and Akt phosphorylation, tumor cell apoptosis, and release of caspase-3. P.o. administration (q.d. or b.i.d.) of CP-724,714 inhibits the growth of erbB2-overexpressing tumors in athymic mice without overt adverse effects.

Published 18 October 2007 in Cancer Res, 67(20): 9887-93.
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