Mechanistic Investigation of Bone Marrow Suppression Associated with Palbociclib and its Differentiation from Cytotoxic Chemotherapies.

Purpose: Palbociclib (PD-0332991) is the first selective cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor approved for metastatic breast cancer. Hematologic effects, especially neutropenia, are dose-limiting adverse events for palbociclib in humans.

Experimental Design: Reversible hematologic effects and bone marrow hypocellularity have been identified in toxicology studies in rats and dogs after palbociclib treatment. To understand the mechanism by which the hematologic toxicity occurs, and to further differentiate it from the myelotoxicity caused by cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents, anin vitroassay using human bone marrow mononuclear cells (hBMNC) was utilized.

Results: This work demonstrated that palbociclib-induced bone marrow suppression occurred through cell-cycle arrest, with no apoptosis at clinically relevant concentrations, was not lineage-specific, and was reversible upon palbociclib withdrawal. In contrast, treatment with chemotherapeutic agents (paclitaxel and doxorubicin) resulted in DNA damage and apoptotic cell death in hBMNCs. In the presence or absence of the antiestrogen, palbociclib-treated hBMNCs did not become senescent and resumed proliferation following palbociclib withdrawal, consistent with pharmacologic quiescence. The breast cancer cells, MCF-7, conversely, became senescent following palbociclib or antiestrogen treatment with additive effects in combination and remained arrested in the presence of antiestrogen.

Conclusions: Palbociclib causes reversible bone marrow suppression, clearly differentiating it from apoptotic cell death caused by cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents. This study also distinguished the cell-cycle arresting action of palbociclib on normal bone marrow cells from the senescent effects observed in breast cancer cells. These results shed light on the mechanism and support risk management of palbociclib-induced bone marrow toxicity in the clinic.