Gene therapy of prostate cancer with the soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor Flk1.

A variety of novel therapeutic approaches have emerged recently for the treatment of human cancers. We have coupled two of these therapeutic approaches, gene therapy and antiangiogenic therapy and tested them in two murine prostate cancer models Recombinant adenovirus encoding the ligand-binding ectodomain of the VEGF receptor 2 (Flk1) fused to an Fc domain was administered to SCID mice carrying orthotopic human LNCaP tumors as well as to transgenic (TRAMP) mice with spontaneous prostate tumors. Ad Flk1-Fc injection reduced tumor growth by 66% for orthotopic LNCaP tumors and by 42% for spontaneous tumors in TRAMP mice.

Adenovirus-mediated delivery of a soluble form of the VEGF receptor Flk1 delays the growth of murine and human pancreatic adenocarcinoma in mice.

Background: Because pancreatic adenocarcinoma is poorly responsive to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, novel treatments such as antiangiogenic gene therapy may have use in the adjuvant treatment of this malignancy. We evaluated the antitumor effects of the in vivo administration of an adenovirus vector encoding a soluble form of Flk1 (Flk1-Fc), a receptor for vascular endothelial growth factor, in 3 murine models of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Methods: In a first model, immunocompetent C57Bl/6 mice were injected subcutaneously with Panc02 murine pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells before treatment.