Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects (NSERC partnered)

Cancer metastases (the spreading of cancer cells from one organ or tissue to another) are ultimately the cause of death in 90 percent of cancer patients. Therefore, the need for drugs capable of interfering with this process is enormous. As the actin cytoskeleton is the key cellular machinery responsible for the morphological changes in cancer cells that facilitate their ability to metastasize, our research project will develop new chemotherapeutic agents to defeat the contribution of actin to the spread of cancer. Using our detailed knowledge of potent natural inhibitors of actin, we will design and synthesize cancer targeting versions of these inhibitors by joining them to cancer-seeking antibodies. These antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) will maximize the cancer killing potential of the therapeutic by allowing the actin-inhibiting component to be taken up by the cancer cells with precision, before they have a chance to form secondary tumours. In doing so, these agents will reduce many of the common side-effects associated with cancer chemotherapies, and will diminish cancer burden and mortality for Canadians.