Multiple myeloma is a highly radiosensitive skeletal malignancy, but bone-seeking radionuclides have not yet found their place in disease management. We previously reported that the proteasome inhibitor PS-341 selectively sensitizes myeloma cells to the lethal effects of ionizing radiation. To extend these observations to an in vivo model, we combined PS-341 with the bone-seeking radionuclide 153-Sm-EDTMP. In vitro clonogenic assays demonstrated synergistic killing of myeloma cells exposed to both PS-341 and 153-Sm-EDTMP. Using the orthotopic, syngeneic 5TGM1 myeloma model, the median survivals of mice treated with saline, 2 doses of PS-341 (0.5 mg/kg), or a single nonmyeloablative dose of 153-Sm-EDTMP (22.5 MBq) were 21, 22, and 28 days, respectively. In contrast, mice treated with combination therapy comprising 2 doses of PS-341 (0.5 mg/kg), 1 day prior to and 1 day following 153-Sm-EDTMP (22.5 MBq) showed a significantly prolonged median survival of 49 days (P < .001). In addition to prolonged survival, this treatment combination yielded reduced clonogenicity of bone marrowresident 5TGM1 cells, reduced serum myeloma-associated paraprotein levels, and
IntroductionMultiple myeloma is a neoplasm of antibody-secreting plasma cells that infiltrate the bone marrow and form osteolytic tumors. 1 It is an incurable malignancy causing more than 10 000 deaths each year in the United States. 2 Standard treatment is with corticosteroids, thalidomide, alkylating agents, and stem-cell transplantation, but median survival remains only 4 years. 1 Multiple myeloma is highly radiosensitive and is locally radiocurable. 3,4 Novel systemic radionuclide-based therapies may therefore provide a significant advance in clinical therapy of myeloma.Both samarium-153 ethylenediaminetetramethylene phosphonate (Sm-153-EDTMP) [5][6][7] and Holmium-166 phosphonate chelate, 1,4,7,10 tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetra-methylene phosphonic acid 8 have been used as a basis for skeletal-targeted radiotherapy in multiple myeloma. 153-Sm-EDTMP emits -particles with a range of 0.5 mm to 1.01 mm and has a half-life of 48.6 hours. It can therefore deliver effective doses of radiation to neoplastic plasma cells in bone marrow with limited toxicity to normal nonhematopoietic tissues. 9 153 [Sm] also emits ␥-rays and is therefore amenable to noninvasive photon-based imaging studies to reveal the biodistribution of isotope in the body, facilitating complex dosimetry calculations. 9,10 Besides targeting delivery to sites of tumor growth, another approach to improve the therapeutic index of radiation is to use radiation modifiers that alter the cellular response to radiation. 11 The proteasome inhibitor PS-341 (pyrazylcarbonyl-Phe-Leuboronate, bortezomib, or Velcade; Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA) has been approved for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. 12 This drug has pleiotropic antimyeloma effects leading to tumor-cell killing in the bone marrow microenvironment. We recently demonstrated that PS-341 synergistically e...