Anti-VEGF therapy induces ECM remodeling and mechanical barriers to therapy in colorectal cancer liver metastases

Menée à l'aide de modèles murins, cette étude met en évidence des mécanismes par lesquels, en augmentant la rigidité mécanique de métastases hépatiques d'un cancer colorectal, une thérapie anti-angiogénique (bévacizumab) limite l'efficacité d'une chimiothérapie

Résumé en anglais

Antiangiogenic therapy with drugs that block vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling to inhibit formation of new blood vessels in tumors is commonly used in colorectal cancer. Unfortunately, the effects of this therapy usually do not last for long, and a study by Rahbari et al. shows why this might be the case. The authors found that VEGF inhibition increased the stiffness of colorectal cancer liver metastases, making them more difficult to treat with chemotherapy. In a mouse model, the researchers were able to overcome this difficulty by using an enzyme to degrade a component of the extracellular matrix in liver metastases, suggesting that the matrix may be a target for future cancer therapies.

The survival benefit of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients is limited to a few months because of acquired resistance. We show that anti-VEGF therapy induced remodeling of the extracellular matrix with subsequent alteration of the physical properties of colorectal liver metastases. Preoperative treatment with bevacizumab in patients with colorectal liver metastases increased hyaluronic acid (HA) deposition within the tumors. Moreover, in two syngeneic mouse models of CRC metastasis in the liver, we show that anti-VEGF therapy markedly increased the expression of HA and sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAGs), without significantly changing collagen deposition. The density of these matrix components correlated with increased tumor stiffness after anti-VEGF therapy. Treatment-induced tumor hypoxia appeared to be the driving force for the remodeling of the extracellular matrix. In preclinical models, we show that enzymatic depletion of HA partially rescued the compromised perfusion in liver mCRCs after anti-VEGF therapy and prolonged survival in combination with anti-VEGF therapy and chemotherapy. These findings suggest that extracellular matrix components such as HA could be a potential therapeutic target for reducing physical barriers to systemic treatments in patients with mCRC who receive anti-VEGF therapy.