Targeting myeloid chemotaxis to reverse prostate cancer therapy resistance
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Inflammation is a hallmark of cancer1. In cancer patients, peripheral blood myeloid expansion, indicated by a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), associates with shorter survival and treatment resistance across malignancies and therapeutic modalities2-5. Whether myeloid inflammation drives prostate cancer progression in humans remain unclear. Herein we show that inhibition of myeloid chemotaxis can reduce tumour-elicited myeloid inflammation and reverse therapy resistance in a subset of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients. We show that higher blood NLR reflects tumour myeloid infiltration and tumour expression of senescence-associated mRNA species including myeloid chemoattracting CXCR2 ligands. To determine whether myeloid cells fuel androgen receptor signaling inhibitor (ARSI) resistance, and if inhibiting CXCR2 to block myeloid chemotaxis reverses this, we conducted an investigator-initiated, proof-of-concept clinical trial of a CXCR2 inhibitor (AZD5069) plus enzalutamide in patients with ARSI-resistant mCRPC. This combination was well tolerated without dose-limiting toxicity and decreased circulating neutrophils, reduced intratumor CD11b+HLA-DRloCD15+CD14- myeloid cell infiltration, and imparted durable clinical benefit with biochemical and radiological responses in a subset of mCRPC patients. This study provides the first clinical evidence that senescence-associated myeloid inflammation can fuel mCRPC progression and resistance to AR blockade. Targeting myeloid chemotaxis merits broader evaluation in other cancers.
Date Issued
2023-10-16
Date Acceptance
2023-09-28
Citation
Nature, 2023, 623 (7989), pp.1053-1061
ISSN
0028-0836
Publisher
Nature Research
Start Page
1053
End Page
1061
Journal / Book Title
Nature
Volume
623
Issue
7989
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2023 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06696-z
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2023-10-16