Use of antibody against o-acetylated gd2 ganglioside to improve the therapeutic potential of drugs

A composition for delivery of an anti-cancer agent into a cell, expressing the OAcGD2 ganglioside comprising:

• (i) at least one anti-cancer agent, and (ii) at least one multimeric antibody recognizing the OAcGD2 ganglioside, a functional fragment or a derivative thereof, wherein the at least one antibody recognizing the OAcGD2 ganglioside enhances the uptake of the at least one anti-cancer agent by the tumor cell.

A multimeric antibody recognizing the OAcGD2 ganglioside, a functional fragment or a derivative thereof, for use in the selective delivery into a cell expressing the OAcGD2 ganglioside of at least one anti-cancer agent to treat and/or to prevent cancer.

A method of increasing the efficacy of a cancer expressing the OAcGD2 ganglioside treatment comprising an anti-cancer agent, comprising administering to a patient in need thereof an effective amount of a composition comprising:

• (i) at least one anti-cancer agent having a molecular mass ranging from 100 Daltons to 200,000 Daltons, (ii) at least one antibody recognizing the OAcGD2 ganglioside, and a functional fragment or a derivative thereof.

A method of increasing sensitivity to an anti-cancer agent in a patient suffering from a cancer expressing the OAcGD2 ganglioside, comprising administering to a patient in need thereof an effective amount of a composition comprising:

• (i) at least one anti-cancer agent having a molecular mass ranging from 100 Daltons to 200,000 Daltons, (ii) at least one antibody recognizing the OAcGD2 ganglioside, and a functional fragment or a derivative thereof.

A method of preventing or delaying development of cancer resistant to an anti-cancer agent in a patient suffering from a cancer expressing the OAcGD2 ganglioside, comprising administering to a patient in need thereof an effective amount of a composition comprising:

• (i) at least one anti-cancer agent having a molecular mass ranging from 100 Daltons to 200,000 Daltons, (ii) at least one antibody recognizing the OAcGD2 ganglioside, and a functional fragment or a derivative thereof.

An in vitro/ex vivo method of identifying synergistic combination of (i) at least one anti-cancer agent having a molecular mass ranging from 100 Daltons to 200,000 Daltons and, (ii) at least one multimeric antibody recognizing the OAcGD2 ganglioside, a functional fragment or a derivative thereof comprising the steps of:

• a) incubating primary tumor cells or cancer cell lines cells expressing the O-acetylated form of GD2 ganglioside in vitro with a composition comprising at least one anti-cancer agent having a molecular mass ranging from 100 Daltons to 200,000 Daltons and, (ii) at least one antibody recognizing the OAcGD2 ganglioside, a functional fragment or a derivative thereof, and
• b) measuring the CI50 index according to the method as disclosed by Chou and Talalay, wherein a CI50 below 1 is indicative of synergism.

A kit suitable for treating cancer expressing OAcGD2 ganglioside comprising (i) at least one anti-cancer agent having a molecular mass ranging from 100 Daltons to 200,000 Daltons, (ii) at least one multimeric antibody recognizing the OAcGD2 ganglioside, and a functional fragment or a derivative thereof.

A method for enhancing intracellular uptake of an anti-cancer agent having a molecular mass ranging from 100 Daltons to 200,000 Daltons in a cell expressing the O-acetylated form of GD2 ganglioside, comprising administering an effective amount of a multimeric antibody recognizing the OAcGD2 ganglioside, a functional fragment or a derivative thereof.

A method of treating a refractory or relapsed cancer in a patient suffering from a cancer expressing the OAcGD2 ganglioside, comprising administering to a patient in need thereof an effective amount of a composition comprising:

• (i) at least one anti-cancer agent having a molecular mass ranging from 100 Daltons to 200,000 Daltons, (ii) at least one multimeric antibody recognizing the OAcGD2 ganglioside, a functional fragment or a derivative thereof, wherein said cancer is refractory to or is in relapse after a first line cancer treatment comprising one or more anti-cancer agent selected from the group consisting of alkylating agents, antimetabolites, anti-tumor antibiotics, topoisomerase inhibitors, mitotic inhibitors, tyrosine kinase inhibitors and nucleoside analogs.