Initial in vivo testing of TPO-receptor agonist eltrombopag in osteosarcoma patient-derived xenograft models by the pediatric preclinical testing consortium

Abstract

Eltrombopag is a small molecule, thrombopoietin receptor agonist approved for the treatment of patients with aplastic anemia and chronic immune thrombocytopenia. It is also a polyvalent cation chelator and inhibits leukemia cell proliferation via reduction of intracellular iron. The in vivo efficacy of eltrombopag was tested against a panel of six Pediatric Preclinical Testing Consortium osteosarcoma xenografts at doses of 5 mg/kg/day (moderate dose) and 50 mg/kg/day (high dose). Eltrombopag, at moderate doses, failed to significantly improve event-free survival (EFS) in 6/6 models. At high doses, eltrombopag significantly prolonged EFS in 2/2 models, though the effect size was small. All models tested demonstrated progressive disease. While eltrombopag did not meaningfully inhibit osteosarcoma growth, it also did not stimulate tumor growth, suggesting it may be safely investigated as a supportive care agent to enhance platelet recovery post chemotherapy.

Keywords:

• Eltrombopag
• osteosarcoma
• patient derived xenograft

Disclosure statement

The authors do not report any conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Grants CA199221 and CA199222 from the National Cancer Institute, Swim Across America, and the Foster Foundation. Eltrombopag was supplied by Novartis.