Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Mediated Cancer Theranostics with Radiolabeled Anti-Granzyme B Peptide

Abstract

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have revolutionized cancer management, patient response can be heterogeneous, and the development of ICI resistance is increasingly reported. Novel treatment strategies are necessary not only to expand the use of ICI to previously unresponsive tumor types but also to overcome resistance. Targeted radionuclide therapy may synergize well with ICIs since it can promote a pro-inflammatory tumor microenvironment. We investigated the use of a granzyme B targeted peptide (GZP) as a cancer theranostic agent, radiolabeled with 68Ga (68Ga-GZP) as a PET imaging agent and radiolabeled with 90Y (90Y-GZP) as a targeted radionuclide therapy agent for combinational therapy with ICI in murine models of colon cancer. Our results demonstrate that GZP increasingly accumulates in tumor tissue after ICI and that the combination of ICI with 90Y-GZP promotes a dose-dependent response, achieving curative response in some settings and increased overall survival.