High Potency VEGFRs/MET/FMS Triple Blockade by TAS-115 Concomitantly Suppresses Tumor Progression and Bone Destruction in Tumor-Induced Bone Disease Model with Lung Carcinoma Cells

Approximately 25–40% of patients with lung cancer show bone metastasis. Bone modifying agents reduce skeletal-related events (SREs), but they do not significantly improve overall survival. Therefore, novel therapeutic approaches are urgently required. In this study, we investigated the anti-tumor effect of TAS-115, a VEGFRs and HGF receptor (MET)-targeted kinase inhibitor, in a tumor-induced bone disease model. A549-Luc-BM1 cells, an osteo-tropic clone of luciferase-transfected A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells (A549-Luc), produced aggressive bone destruction associated with tumor progression after intra-tibial (IT) implantation into mice. TAS-115 significantly reduced IT tumor growth and bone destruction. Histopathological analysis showed a decrease in tumor vessels after TAS-115 treatment, which might be mediated through VEGFRs inhibition. Furthermore, the number of osteoclasts surrounding the tumor was decreased after TAS-115 treatment. In vitro studies demonstrated that TAS-115 inhibited HGF-, VEGF-, and macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF)-induced signaling pathways in osteoclasts. Moreover, TAS-115 inhibited Feline McDonough Sarcoma oncogene (FMS) kinase, as well as M-CSF and receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclast differentiation. Thus, VEGFRs/MET/FMS-triple inhibition in osteoclasts might contribute to the potent efficacy of TAS-115. The fact that concomitant dosing of sunitinib (VEGFRs/FMS inhibition) with crizotinib (MET inhibition) exerted comparable inhibitory efficacy for bone destruction to TAS-115 also supports this notion. In conclusion, TAS-115 inhibited tumor growth via VEGFR-kinase blockade, and also suppressed bone destruction possibly through VEGFRs/MET/FMS-kinase inhibition, which resulted in potent efficacy of TAS-115 in an A549-Luc-BM1 bone disease model. Thus, TAS-115 shows promise as a novel therapy for lung cancer patients with bone metastasis.