@Article{096504017X14897145996933,
AUTHOR = {Vesna Vetma, Jan Rožanc, Emilie M. Charles, Christian T. Hellwig, Leonidas G. Alexopoulos, Markus Rehm},
TITLE = {Examining the In Vitro Efficacy of the IAP Antagonist Birinapant as a Single  Agent or in Combination With Dacarbazine to Induce Melanoma Cell Death},
JOURNAL = {Oncology Research},
VOLUME = {25},
YEAR = {2017},
NUMBER = {9},
PAGES = {1489--1494},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/or/v25n9/56934},
ISSN = {1555-3906},
ABSTRACT = {Antagonists of inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs), alone or in combination with genotoxic therapeutics, 
have been shown to efficiently induce cell death in various solid tumors. The IAP antagonist birinapant is 
currently being tested in phase II clinical trials. We herein aimed to investigate the antitumor efficacy 
of dacarbazine in vitro, both as a single agent and in combination with birinapant, in melanoma cell lines. 
Covering clinically relevant drug concentration ranges, we conducted a total of 5,400 measurements in a panel 
of 12 human melanoma cell lines representing different stages of disease progression. Surprisingly, functionally relevant synergies or response potentiation in combination treatments was not observed, and only one cell 
line modestly responded to birinapant single treatment (approximately 16% cell death). Although we did not 
study the underlying resistance mechanisms or more complex in vivo scenarios in which dacarbazine/birinapant 
response synergies may still possibly manifest, our findings are nevertheless noteworthy because IAP antagonists were demonstrated to strongly enhance responses to DNA-damaging agents in cell lines of other cancer 
types under comparable experimental conditions in vitro.},
DOI = {10.3727/096504017X14897145996933}
}