Glypican-3 targeted delivery of (89)Zr and (90)Y as a theranostic radionuclide platform for hepatocellular carcinoma

Glypican-3 (GPC3) is a tumor associated antigen expressed by hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. This preclinical study evaluated the efficacy of a theranostic platform using a GPC3-targeting antibody αGPC3 conjugated to zirconium-89 ((89)Zr) and yttrium-90 ((90)Y) to identify, treat, and assess treatment response in a murine model of HCC. A murine orthotopic xenograft model of HCC was generated. Animals were injected with (89)Zr-labeled αGPC3 and imaged with a small-animal positron emission/computerized tomography (PET/CT) imaging system (immuno-PET) before and 30 days after radioimmunotherapy (RIT) with (90)Y-labeled αGPC3. Serum alpha fetoprotein (AFP), a marker of tumor burden, was measured. Gross tumor volume (GTV) and SUV(max) by immuno-PET was measured using fixed intensity threshold and manual segmentation methods. Immuno-PET GTV measurements reliably quantified tumor burden prior to RIT, strongly correlating with serum AFP (R(2) = 0.90). Serum AFP was significantly lower 30 days after RIT in (90)Y-αGPC3 treated animals compared to those untreated (p = 0.01) or treated with non-radiolabeled αGPC3 (p = 0.02). Immuno-PET GTV measurements strongly correlated with tumor burden after RIT (R(2) = 0.87), and GTV of animals treated with (90)Y-αGPC3 was lower than in animals who did not receive treatment or were treated with non-radiolabeled αGPC3, although this only trended toward statistical significance. A theranostic platform utilizing GPC3 targeted (89)Zr and (90)Y effectively imaged, treated, and assessed response after radioimmunotherapy in a GPC3-expressing HCC xenograft model.