In lung cancer and many other solid tumor types
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NSCLC = non–small cell lung cancer.
*Data in patients from 2015 to 2020.2
Integrins, including IB6, comprise a family of protein heterodimers that mediate signaling between cells and the extracellular matrix. They are involved in a variety of normal cellular activities, including proliferation, adhesion, motility, and
angiogenesis.1,13,14
*IB6 positivity was defined as ≥1% positivity of tumor cells by immunohistochemistry (IHC) at any intensity (1+, 2+, or 3+).8
In a study evaluating IB6 expression in lung cancer, patients with NSCLC and IB6 expression had significantly reduced survival times vs patients with NSCLC and no IB6 expression (P = 0.039).7
Study design: The study used IHC to evaluate the expression of IB6 on lung cancer tissue microarrays from 311 patient samples in which clinical outcomes were known. The samples consisted of 18 small cell lung cancer and 293 NSCLC. Of these, 22 samples were excluded from the analysis as they contained mostly tumor stroma and normal lung tissue. To determine if there was a relationship between IB6 expression and patient survival in NSCLC, a log-rank test was performed to compare the survival times of NSCLC patients with IB6 expression (IHC 2+ or 3+) vs those without IB6 expression (IHC 0 or 1+).7
IB6 is highly expressed in lung cancer and many other solid tumor types, but is nearly undetectable in most adult epithelial tissue8,15
IB6 plays an important role in promoting key oncogenic processes and IB6 expression is correlated with poor survival in lung cancer1,7,15-19
IB6 is localized to the cell surface, making it a highly accessible target for potential therapeutics1,21
Up-regulated integrin αvβ6 [IB6] expression in various tumors and its effect on tumor progression make it a potential target for tumor imaging and therapy.
Niu et al. Cancer Lett. 2017.19
References:
1. Bandyopadhyay A, Raghavan S. Defining the role of integrin αvβ6 in cancer. Curr
Drug Targets. 2009;10(7):645-652. doi:10.2174/138945009788680374 2. Wang Y, Kondrat K, Adhikari J, Nguyen Q, Yu Q, Uprety D. Survival trends among patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer before and after the approval of immunotherapy in the United States: a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database–based study. Cancer. 2025;131(1):e35476. doi:10.1002/cncr.35476 3. Hendriks LE, Kerr KM, Menis J, et al. Non-oncogene-addicted metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Ann Oncol. 2023;34(4):358-376. doi:10.1016/j.annonc.2022.12.013 4. Insa A, Martín-Martorell P, Di Liello R, et al. Which treatment after first line therapy in NSCLC patients without genetic alterations in the era of immunotherapy? Hematology. 2022;169:103538. doi:10.1016/j.critrevonc.2021.103538 5. Pircher A, Wasle IK, Mian M, et al. Docetaxel in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) – an observational study focusing on symptom improvement. Anticancer Res. 2013;33(9):3831-3836. 6. Ahn M-J, Tanaka K, Paz-Ares L, et al. Datopotamab deruxtecan versus docetaxel for previously treated advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer: the randomized, open-label phase III TROPION-Lung01 study. J Clin Oncol. 2024;43(3):260-272. doi:10.1200/JCO-24-01544 7. Elayadi AN, Samli KN, Prudkin L, et al. A peptide selected by biopanning identifies the integrin αvβ6 as a prognostic biomarker for nonsmall cell lung cancer. Cancer Res. 2007;67(12):5889-5895. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-07-0245 8. Data on file. Pfizer Inc. New York, NY. 9. Liu H, Wu Y, Wang F, Liu Z. Molecular imaging of integrin αvβ6 expression in living subjects. Am J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2014;4(4):333-345. 10. Koopman Van Aarsen LA, Leone DR, Ho S, et al. Antibody-mediated blockade of integrin αvβ6 inhibits tumor progression in vivo by a transforming growth factor-β–regulated mechanism. Cancer Res. 2008;68(2):561-570. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-07-2307 11. Yang G-Y, Xu K-S, Pan Z-Q, et al. Integrin alphavbeta6 mediates the potential for colon cancer cells to colonize in and metastasize to the liver. Cancer Sci. 2008;99(5):879-887. doi:10.1111/j.1349-7006.2008.00762.x 12. Yang G-Y, Guo S, Dong C-Y, et al. Integrin αvβ6 sustains and promotes tumor invasive growth in colon cancer progression. World J Gastroenterol. 2015;21(24):7457-7467. doi:10.3748/wjg.v21.i24.7457 13. Pang X, He X, Qiu Z, et al. Targeting integrin pathways: mechanisms and advances in therapy. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2023;8(1):1-42. doi:10.1038/s41392-022-01259-6 14. Nemeth JA, Nakada MT, Trikha M, et al. Alpha-v integrins as therapeutic targets in oncology. Cancer Invest. 2007;25(7):632-646. doi:10.1080/07357900701522638 15. Brzozowska E, Deshmukh S. Integrin alpha v beta 6 (αvβ6) and its implications in cancer treatment. Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(20):12346. doi:10.3390/ijms232012346 16. Clere N, Renault S, Corre I. Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in cancer. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2020;8:747. doi:10.3389/fcell.2020.00747 17. Nystrom ML, McCulloch D, Weinreb PH, et al. Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition suppresses αvβ6 integrin-dependent oral squamous carcinoma invasion. Cancer Res. 2006;66(22):10833-10842. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-06-1640 18. Hecht JL, Dolinski BM, Gardner HA, Violette SM, Weinreb PH. Overexpression of the αvβ6 integrin in endometrial cancer. Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol. 2008;16(6):543-547. doi:10.1097/PAI.0b013e31816bc5ee 19. Niu J, Li Z. The roles of integrin αvβ6 in cancer. Cancer Lett. 2017;403:128-137. doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2017.06.012 20. Yan P, Zhu H, Yin L, et al. Integrin αvβ6 promotes lung cancer proliferation and metastasis through upregulation of IL-8–mediated MAPK/ERK signaling. Transl Oncol. 2018;11(3):619-627. doi:10.1016/j.tranon.2018.02.013 21. Vasir JK, Labhasetwar V. Targeted drug delivery in cancer therapy. Technol Cancer Res Treat. 2005;4(4):363-374. doi:10.1177/153303460500400405
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