BACKGROUND.
Suramin, which binds to and blocks autocrine and paracrine growth factors required for the proliferation of neoplastic cells, is a clinically effective antitumor agent against some human tumors; however, efficacy often is limited by toxicity. In this study, suramin treatment was combined with a fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor-directed toxin chimera, basic FGF-saporin (bFGF-SAP), based on the authors' previous observations that autocrine-mediated resistance to bFGF-SAP in melanoma in vitro is abrogated by suramin treatment.
METHODS.
Severe-combined immunodeficient-Beige mice bearing SK-Mel-5 human melanoma xenografts received weekly treatments of suramin (200 or 75 mg/kg intraperitoneally) beginning on Day 5 after tumor implantation followed 18 hours later by a treatment with bFGF-SAP (0.5-5 g/kg intravenously) for 4 weeks. The optimal interlude between the administration of suramin and bFGF-SAP was determined by tumor excision assays. The efficacy of combination therapy as a function of alternative dosing regimens was determined by tumor growth inhibition (TGI) studies.
RESULTS.
Fifty days after implantation, a 79 -82% TGI was observed in animals receiving the suramin (200 mg/kg) plus bFGF-SAP combination regimens compared with median tumor volumes from vehicle-treated controls (3070 Ϯ 440 mm 3 ). TGI observed for combination therapies varied significantly (P Ͻ 0.05-0.001) from TGI observed in treatment groups receiving suramin alone (57%) or bFGF-SAP alone (34 -38%). Combining bFGF-SAP (5 g/kg) with a low, therapeutically ineffective dose of suramin (75 mg/kg) produced a 68% rate of TGI compared with controls, thus lowering the therapeutic effective dose of suramin and eliminating the suramin-related lethal toxicity (12% mortality rate) observed in animals treated with high dose suramin.
CONCLUSIONS.
The results of the current study suggest that combining suramin with receptor-directed therapies offers a more effective regimen for the treatment of malignant melanoma.