Grant: Project Grant

A fundamental reason why many cancer treatments fail to provide long-term patient survival is the presence of specialized cancer cells that resist standard radiation and drug therapies. These resilient cells, often referred to as cancer stem cells or tumour initiating cells, can cause the regrowth of a tumour or result in the spread of cancer throughout the body after treatments have been completed. It is possible for antibodies to be created that target surface molecules that are unique to tumour initiating cells, and to use those antibodies to deliver radioactive compounds directly to those cells. One type of radioactive compound can mark the cells so they can be seen on imaging scanners, creating a non-invasive means of detecting highly resistant cancers. A different but complementary radioactive compound can also be used to kill the cancer stem cells with exquisite potency and selectivity. For the latter, a specific type of radiation will be used, which is highly effective at killing cancer cells but will only penetrate a distance of 1 or 2 cells, reducing damage to nearby normal tissue. There is no known resistance mechanism by cancer cells to this type of radiation, and this radiotherapy has the added benefit that it can enhance the ability of the patient's own immune system to attack tumour cells. Consequently, this antibody-targeted radiotherapy against tumour initiating cells represents a viable and new approach for treating highly-resistant tumours. Thus, a novel antibody-targeted radiotherapy will be developed and evaluated for its ability to treat glioblastoma: a form of brain cancer, where the prognosis is poor and there are no effective therapies. The proposed research involves a multidisciplinary team that will develop and validate the new therapy, and in doing so will advance both new diagnostic and treatment options for brain cancer, for early use in clinical trials.