Gefitinib enhances sensitivity of endometrial cancer cells to progestin therapy via dual-specificity phosphatase 1

In this study, we investigated if Gefitinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, augments endometrial cancer (EC) therapy with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA). Combined treatment with Gefitinib plus MPA decreased the proliferation and invasiveness of the Ishikawa and RL952 EC cell lines more effectively than MPA treatment alone. Moreover, combined treatment with Gefitinib plus MPA reduced growth of EC xenografts in Balb/c nude mice more than either Gefitinib or MPA alone. The therapeutic efficacy of combined Gefitinib plus MPA treatment was dependent on expression of dual-specificity phosphatase 1 (DUSP1). DUSP1 knockdown in Ishikawa cells treated with Gefitinib plus MPA showed greater proliferation and invasiveness than parental Ishikawa cells treated similarly. EC cells treated with the combination of Gefitinib plus MPA also showed DUSP1-dependent reductions in phospho-ERK1/2 and increases in E-Cadherin. Thus, Gefitinib appears to DUSP1-dependently enhance the therapeutic efficacy of progestin in EC cells.