Sneaky Peptide
Every 12 minutes in the United States, one person dies from pancreatic cancer, which is often diagnosed late, spreads rapidly and has a low five–year survival rate of about 10%. Treatment may include radiation therapy, surgery, and chemotherapy, although cancer often becomes resistant to drugs.
Researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Moore Cancer Center, in collaboration with the Sanford-Burnham-Prebis Institute of Medical Research and Columbia University, have demonstrated that a new tumor-penetrating therapy tested on animal models can enhance the effects of chemotherapy, reduce metastasis and increase survival. The iRGD peptide targeted at the tumor, using fibrous tissue as a backbone, is able to penetrate into the "armor" with which the tumor surrounds itself and destroys it from the inside.
Ductal pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a subtype of pancreatic cancer that is highly drug resistant, partly due to the dense outer layer surrounding the tumor.
Many drugs can reach the vessels of the tumor, but they are not able to penetrate through the fibrous membrane deep into the tissue, which reduces the effectiveness of treatment.
A new study has shown that the tumor-penetrating peptide iRGD uses a fibrous network of fibrous tissue to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs deep into the tumor.
The team studied the microenvironment of PDAC tumors in a mouse model and found that iRGD binds to the protein integrin β5 produced by fibroblasts, which produce a protective coating of the tumor.
When iRGD was administered in addition to chemotherapy to mice with high levels of integrin β5, there was a significant increase in survival and a decrease in the spread of cancer to other organs compared to mice receiving chemotherapy alone. It is important that iRGD therapy did not cause any side effects. In addition, the authors suggest that determining the level of integrin β5 before starting treatment will help predict its effectiveness.
The researchers said the next steps include a human clinical trial. According to their estimates, it can begin in a year.
Article by T.Hurtado de Mendoza et al. Tumor-penetrating therapy for β5 integrin-rich pancreas cancer is published in the journal Nature Communications.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru Based on UC San Diego: Therapy Sneaks into the Hard Layer of Pancreatic Cancer Tumor and Destroys it From Within.