Northeastern University

Sustained Delivery of PARP Inhibitor Talazoparib for the Treatment of BRCA-Deficient Ovarian Cancer

Shicheng Yang, Dept of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University
November 7, 2023 3:30 pm

Ovarian cancer has long been known to be the deadliest cancer associated with the female reproductive system. More than 15% of ovarian cancer patients have a defective BRCA-mediated homologous recombination (HR) repair pathway that can be therapeutically targeted with PARP inhibitors (PARPi), such as Talazoparib (TLZ). The expansion of TLZ clinical approval beyond breast cancer has been hindered due to the highly potent systemic side effects resembling chemotherapeutics. Here we report the development of a novel TLZ-loaded PLGA implant (InCeT-TLZ) that sustainedly releases TLZ over 25 days directly into the peritoneal (i.p.) cavity to treat patient-mimicking BRCA-mutated metastatic ovarian cancer (mOC). In vivo experimentation doubled survival in the InCeT-TLZ treated group compared to control and no significant signs of toxicity were visible histologically in the surrounding peritoneal organs, indicating that the sustained and local delivery of TLZ greatly maximized therapeutic efficacy and minimized severe clinical side effects. The treated animals eventually developed resistance to PARPi therapy and were sacrificed. To explore treatments to overcome resistance, in vitro studies with TLZ sensitive and resistant ascites-derived murine cell lines were carried out and demonstrated that ATR inhibitor and PI3K inhibitor can potentially be used in combination with the InCeT-TLZ to overcome acquired PARPi resistance. Intraperitoneal release of PARPi via implants would offer new sustained therapy options that substantially enhance the therapeutic window, boost cure rate, reduce mortality and suffering, and provide major enhancements in quality of life for the thousands of women diagnosed with OC.

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