Molecular Imaging of Oxygenation Changes during Immunotherapy in Combination with Paclitaxel in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Abstract

Hypoxia is a common feature of the tumor microenvironment, including that of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive breast cancer subtype with a high five-year mortality rate. Using [¹⁸F]-fluoromisonidazole (FMISO) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, we aimed to monitor changes in response to immunotherapy (IMT) with chemotherapy in TNBC. TNBC-tumor-bearing mice received paclitaxel (PTX) ± immune checkpoint inhibitors anti-programmed death 1 and anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte 4. FMISO-PET imaging was performed on treatment days 0, 6, and 12. Max and mean standard uptake values (SUV_max and SUV_mean, respectively), histological analyses, and flow cytometry results were compared. FMISO-PET imaging revealed differences in tumor biology between treatment groups prior to tumor volume changes. 4T1 responders showed SUV_mean 1.6-fold lower (<i>p</i> = 0.02) and 1.8-fold lower (<i>p</i> = 0.02) than non-responders on days 6 and 12, respectively. E0771 responders showed SUV_mean 3.6-fold lower (<i>p</i> = 0.001) and 2.7-fold lower (<i>p</i> = 0.03) than non-responders on days 6 and 12, respectively. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed IMT plus PTX decreased hypoxia and proliferation and increased vascularity compared to control. Combination IMT/PTX recovered the loss of CD4+ T-cells observed with single-agent therapies. PET imaging can provide timely, longitudinal data on the TNBC tumor microenvironment, specifically intratumoral hypoxia, predicting therapeutic response to IMT plus chemotherapy.