N-[18F]-Fluoroacetylcrizotinib: A potentially potent and selective PET tracer for molecular imaging of non-small cell lung cancer

N-[18F]fluoroacetylcrizotinib, a fluorine-18 labeled derivative of the first FDA approved tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for the treatment of Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), crizotinib, was successfully synthesized for use in positron emission tomography (PET). Sequential in vitro biological evaluation of fluoracetylcrizotinib and in vivo biodistribution studies of [18F]fluoroacetylcrizotinib demonstrated that the biological activity of the parent compound remained unchanged, with potent ALK kinase inhibition and effective tumor growth inhibition. These results show that [18F]fluoroacetylcrizotinib has the potential to be a promising PET ligand for use in NSCLC imaging. The utility of PET in this context provides a non-invasive, quantifiable method to inform on the pharmacokinetics of an ALK-inhibitor such as crizotinib prior to a clinical trial, as well as during a trial in the event of acquired drug resistance. READ ARTICLE

Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters DOI:10.1016/j.bmcl.2020.127257

Authors: Jason R. Buck, Samir Saleh, Trey Claus, Christine Lovly, Matthew R. Hight, Michael L. Nickels, M. Noor Tantawy, H.Charles Manning

EditorialKirk SmithAugust 15, 2020Crizotinib, NSCLC, PET, Cancer, Therapy

Novel derivatives of anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors: Synthesis, radiolabeling, and preliminary biological studies of fluoroethyl analogues of crizotinib, alectinib, and ceritinib

Novel derivatives of anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors: Synthesis, radiolabeling, and preliminary biological studies of fluoroethyl analogues of crizotinib, alectinib, and ceritinib

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), an oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinase, is a therapeutic target in various cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer. Although several ALK inhibitors, including crizotinib, ceritinib, and alectinib, are approved for cancer treatment, their long-term benefit is often limited by the cancer's acquisition of resistance owing to secondary point mutations in ALK. Importantly, some ALK inhibitors cannot cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and thus have little or no efficacy against brain metastases. The introduction of a lipophilic moiety, such as a fluoroethyl group may improve the drug's BBB penetration. Herein, we report the synthesis of fluoroethyl analogues of crizotinib 1, alectinib 4, and ceritinib 9, and their radiolabeling with 18F for pharmacokinetic studies. The fluoroethyl derivatives and their radioactive analogues were obtained in good yields with high purity and good molar activity. A cytotoxicity screen in ALK-expressing H2228 lung cancer cells showed that the analogues had up to nanomolar potency and the addition of the fluorinated moiety had minimal impact overall on the potency of the original drugs. Positron emission tomography in healthy mice showed that the analogues had enhanced BBB penetration, suggesting that they have therapeutic potential against central nervous system metastases. READ ARTICLE

European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.111571

Authors: Bhasker Radaram, Federica Pisaneschi, Yi Rao, Ping Yang, David Piwnica-Worms, Mian M.Alauddin

Pre-ClinicalKirk SmithNovember 15, 2019Lung cancer, Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), Brain metastasis, Targeted therapeutics, PET