A recent University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center study suggests a recent radiopharmaceutical compound could also be a viable treatment option for patients with advanced cervical cancer.
The study, led by UK Markey Cancer Center radiation oncologist Charles Kunos, M.D., and published in Frontiers in Oncology, validates that the radioactive drug 212Pb-DOTAM-GRPR1 could also be useful within the treatment of persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer.
Radiopharmaceuticals are expected to play an increasingly vital role in the longer term of cancer treatment. They deliver radiation therapy on to cancer cells, reducing the chance of harm to healthy tissue and leading to improved treatment outcomes and reduced negative effects in comparison with typical radiation therapy.
As researchers develop recent radiopharmaceutical agents, a part of the clinical validation of those efforts is to supply proof that the targets are present within the cancer cells. This study ensures that clinical trials using this agent have the most effective likelihood to achieve success, which is able to ultimately bring these advanced therapies to the greater oncology market.”
Charles Kunos, Professor, Radiation Medicine, University of Kentucky College of Medicine
Radiopharmaceuticals require a molecular goal to deliver therapy to tumors. 212Pb-DOTAM-GRPR1 targets gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR), a protein expressed by cancer cells.
Kunos’ team evaluated tissue from 33 tumors from women who had metastatic cervical cancer. A lot of the tissue studied overexpressed the GRPR, suggesting 212Pb-DOTAM-GRPR1 is a promising therapy to treat the disease.
“As Kentucky has the very best incidence and mortality rate of cervical cancer within the U.S., UK has a vested interest to find recent therapies for the disease,” said Kunos. “A lot of our patients are sometimes presented with a much later stage disease and have the best need for a recent targeted therapy like a radiopharmaceutical.”
The outcomes also validate a phase 1 clinical trial of 212Pb-DOTAM-GRPR1 that’s already underway at Markey.
The study can be helping to make the subsequent generation of cancer treatment available to Kentuckians who need it most. Markey is currently only one in every of only two specialized cancer centers within the U.S. to supply this agent in a clinical trial, and one in every of a couple of centers that may offer radiopharmaceuticals.
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Journal reference:
Kunos, C. A., et al. (2023) Human gastrin- releasing peptide receptor expression in women with uterine cervix cancer. Frontiers in Oncology. doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2023.1126426.