Monday, June 8, 2015

German research findsTheranostic drug that aids in Prostate Cancer Therapy

A novel radionuclide drug tackles the challenge of prostate cancer imaging and takes a turn as a cancer-killing therapy for tumors in and out of the prostate, according to research presented during the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI).
The drug works by delivering diagnostic- or therapy-grade radionuclides to cells that express a protein called prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), found on the surface of prostate cancer cells and their metastatic counterparts throughout the body. Clinicians can diagnose or stage disease and monitor therapy with the aid of a special hybrid scanner used to perform minimally invasive positron emission tomography (PET).
"Prostate cancer still represents one of the main causes for cancer-related deaths among men," said Matthias Eder, PhD, co-author of the study and a researcher in the division of radiopharmaceutical chemistry at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany. "The diagnosis and therapy of metastatic prostate cancer is still challenging. The current clinical methods are not sensitive enough for detecting disease beyond the prostate, but we are convinced that this novel theranostic radiotracer represents a significant step forward that could have a major impact on the future of prostate cancer care."
The PSMA-inhibiting theranostic agent, called PSMA-617, is still in its initial stages, but it could be ideal for the treatment of patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancers, which are notoriously difficult to control and linked to poor prognosis. Options for these patients are few, and they come with substantial adverse effects. Diagnosis and therapy with the theranostic agent PSMA-617 could offer more effective and sensitive visualization, better staging and significantly higher therapeutic potential.

No comments:

Post a Comment