Influence of alectinib and crizotinib on ionizing radiation - in vitro analysis of ALK/ROS1-wildtype lung tissue cells

(1) Background: Just little is known about the interaction of ALK/ROS1-targeting kinase inhibitors with ionizing radiation (IR), particularly regarding side effects. We investigated the toxicity in two different lung cell lines both ALK/ROS1 wildtype (healthy and tumor origin) as representatives for normal lung tissue; (2) Methods: Human lung cell line BEAS-2B and malignant A549 lung cancer cells (ALK/ROS1 wt) were treated with alectinib or crizotinib, 2 Gy irradiation or a combination of KI and IR. Cell toxicity was analyzed by cell death (Annexin, 7AAD), colony forming, migration assay and live-cell imaging (TMRM, DRAQ7, Caspase3/7). Cell cycle (Hoechst) were analyzed by flow cytometry; (3) Results: Crizotinib led to higher cell death rates than alectinib, when cells were treated with 10 µM KI. Alectinib induced a more intense growth inhibition of colonies. Both inhibitors showed additive effects in combination with irradiation. Combination treatment (IR + KI) does not lead to synergistic effect on neither cell death nor colony forming; (4) Conclusions: The influence of simultaneous KI and IR was studied in non-mutated ALK/ROS1 cell lines. Both KIs seems to be well tolerated in combination with thoracic radiotherapy and lacked synergistic reinforcement in cellular toxicity. This supports the feasibility of ALK/ROS1 inhibition in combination with thoracic irradiation in future clinical trials.