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Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological cancer in the US. Standard treatment consists of surgery followed by chemotherapies relying on apoptotic tumor cell death. Most women with advanced stage disease will relapse, suggesting that this disease is characterized by primary and acquired resistance to chemotherapy, and novel approaches to treatment are greatly needed. Low Caspase 8 expression levels in ovarian cancers correlate with resistance to apoptotic chemotherapy, and a subpopulation of patients with low Caspase 8 levels exhibit poorer overall survival after standard-of-care treatment. We hypothesized that low Caspase 8 function reduces the ability of cancer cells to undergo apoptosis when exposed to standard chemotherapy and that second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases (Smac)-mimetics could increase cell death in combination with chemotherapy. Here we show that combination treatment with a Smac-mimetic can target tumor cells with low Caspase 8 and induce necroptotic cell death. We investigated the in vitro effect of Smac-mimetic added to carboplatin and paclitaxel treatment of ovarian cancer cells expressing wild type and low Caspase 8 levels, which resulted in a 2–4-fold enhancement of cell death. Mice bearing subcutaneous or intraperitoneal ovarian xenografts showed greater aggressiveness of Caspase 8-deficient versus wild-type tumors; combined in vivo treatment with chemotherapy and Smac-mimetic resulted in >50% decrease in low Caspase 8 xenograft growth, as well as significantly enhanced overall survival, especially when given simultaneously with paclitaxel. Surprisingly, Smac-mimetic on the same day as carboplatin decreased mouse survival compared to when it was given on a sequential day of treatment. The antagonism was associated with a decrease in DNA damage markers, emphasizing the importance of optimizing timing of drug administration. Clinical validation of such approaches is needed to increase the effectiveness of current standard ovarian cancer treatment.

Smac-mimetic enhances antitumor effect of standard chemotherapy in ovarian cancer models via Caspase 8-independent mechanism