Combination of an apelin antagonist and an angiogenesis inhibitor for the treatment of cancer

The field of the present invention is the field of anti-angiogenic cancer therapy. Efforts are needed to reduce or overcome resistance of cancer to anti-angiogenic therapies, such as therapies based on the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitor sunitinib. It is hence an object of the present invention to provide an agent that can be combined with an anti-angiogenic therapy in order to reduce or overcome resistance to the anti-angiogenic therapy. The present invention thus relates to a pharmaceutical composition or set comprising an apelin antagonist and/or apelin receptor antagonist, and an angiogenesis inhibitor. The angiogenesis inhibitor is an RTK inhibitor, preferably sunitinib. The apelin antagonist can be an anti-apelin antibody. The apelin receptor antagonist can be an apelin peptide analogue or an anti-apelin-receptor antibody. Furthermore, methods of cancer treatment, especially breast or lung cancer treatment, based on an apelin antagonist and/or apelin receptor antagonist, and an angiogenesis inhibitor are disclosed.