ASCO 2021: The next wave of radiation oncology revolution: radiopharmaceuticals track and kill cancer cells

Before the opening of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), it announced the LBA4 phase III VISION trial result summary of an emerging drug called radiopharmaceutical (Lu-177–PSMA-617), which can deliver radiation directly to cancer cells.

In the past two decades, the treatment of many types of cancer has changed dramatically.

Radiation therapy was first used to treat cancer more than 100 years ago.

Although effective, external radiation can also cause collateral damage.

Now, researchers are developing a new type of drug called radiopharmaceutical that can directly and specifically target cancer cells for radiation therapy.

These studies have shown that targeted radiotherapy at the cellular level may reduce the risk of short- and long-term side effects of treatment, and can even kill tiny deposits of cancer cells throughout the body.

"I think they will change radiation oncology in the next 10 to 15 years," Dr.

"You can treat tumors that you can't see.

When the cancer is confined to the prostate, the radiation can be irradiated to the body or implanted in particles.

The trial involved 831 men with advanced prostate cancer.

Lu-177-PSMA-617 plus the standard of care significantly improved the radiology progression-free survival by 60%, compared with the standard of care alone: ​​median radiology progression-free survival was 8.

Radioactivity reduces the production of blood cells, which can lead to anemia and clotting problems in patients.

Other drugs already in use include Novartis’ Lutathera, which is used to treat a rare type of gastric and intestinal cancer.

Bayer's Xofigo is approved for use in men whose prostate cancer has spread to the bones but not elsewhere.

In the next ten years, such drugs "will become the main driving force for cancer research," said Dr.
Charles Kunos, who worked on radiopharmaceutical research standards at the National Cancer Institute before leaving to join the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center.
"This will be the next wave of treatment development.
" Dr.
Mary-Ellen Taplin of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston said that drugs that are being tested for melanoma and breast, pancreatic and other cancers "have great potential.
" Taplin recruited patients in the study and reviewed the data.

Dr.
Michael Morris, head of research at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, said that as for prostate cancer, "it opens up a series of future strategies," including in the early stages of the disease and other treatments.