Photodynamic Therapy in Combination with Doxorubicin Is Superior to Monotherapy for the Treatment of Lung Cancer

We have previously shown that a radioactive (¹²³I)-analog of methyl 3-(1'-(iodobexyloxy) ethyl-3-devinylpyropheophorbide-a (PET-ONCO), derived from chlorophyll-a can be used for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of a variety of tumors, including those where ¹⁸F-FDG shows limitations. In this study, the photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacy of the corresponding non-radioactive photosensitizer (PS) was investigated in a variety of tumor types (NSCLC, SCC, adenocarcinoma) derived from lung cancer patients in mice tumor models. The in vitro and in vivo efficacy was also investigated in combination with doxorubicin, and a significantly enhanced long-term tumor response was observed. The toxicity and toxicokinetic profile of the iodinated PS was also evaluated in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats and Beagle dog at variable doses (single intravenous injections) to assess reversibility or latency of any effects over a 28-day dose free period. The no-observed-adverse-effect (NOAEL) of the PS was considered to be 6.5 mg/kg for male and female rats, and for dogs, 3.45 mg/kg, the highest dose levels evaluated, respectively. The corresponding plasma C_max and AYC_last for male and female rats were 214,000 and 229,000 ng/mL and 3,680,000 and 3,810,000 h * ng/mL, respectively. For male and female dogs, the corresponding plasma C_max and AYC_last were 76,000 and 92,400 ng/mL and 976,000 and 1,200,000 h * ng/mL, respectively.