PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Lower dose, less toxic radiopharmaceutical produces better outcomes

NUS and Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) researchers successfully trial new, improved treatment for neuroendocrine cancers

2021-03-09
(Press-News.org) Neuroendocrine tumours are cancers that begin in specialised cells called neuroendocrine cells. These cells have traits similar to those of nerve cells and hormone-producing cells. Neuroendocrine tumours, while rare, can occur anywhere in the body. Most affect the cardiothoracic region, eg lungs, appendix, small intestine, pancreas as well as the rectum. There are many types of neuroendocrine tumours: some grow slowly while others develop very rapidly.

Neuroendocrine tumors are characterised by abundant production of somatostatin receptor 2, a naturally circulating hormone that is an important target for scientists studying new treatment approaches.

Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy (PRRT) is the most commonly used treatment for refractive neuroendocrine cancers, delivering cancer-killing radioactive substances directly to tumour sites. This treatment provides symptomatic relief, stopping or slowing tumour growth and improving overall survival for patients. It is a form of molecular therapy that features a protein (called a peptide) which targets cancer cells and which is similar to the naturally circulating hormone, somatostatin. The peptide is mated with a small amount of radioactive material, or radionuclide. They form a radiopharmaceutical called a radiopeptide (177Lu-DOTA-EB-TATE). Injected into a patient, this radiopeptide travels in the bloodstream, finds and then binds to neuroendocrine tumor cells, before delivering a targeted high dose of radiation directly to the cancer cells.

PPRT pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics improved

Together with collaborators at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Professor Shawn Chen Xiaoyuan of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS), has managed to improve the pharmacokinetics (i.e. the absorption and movement of drugs into, through and out of the body) and effectiveness of PPRT, while reducing its dosage and toxicity. The researchers did this by introducing a truncated Evans blue molecule onto octreotate peptide (denoted as 177Lu-DOTA-EB-TATE).

"The EB part allows reversible binding of 177Lu-DOTA-EB-TATE to blood albumin and extends its half-life in the blood, and thus provides an extended therapeutic time window, and improved treatment efficacy over Lutathera," said Prof Chen, who holds concurrent appointments at the NUS Departments of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering. Lutathera is a radioactive medication used to treat neuroendocrine cancers.

Clinical trial results

Thirty-two patients at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) with histologically confirmed neuroendocrine tumours were recruited for a clinical trial with the new technology. The patients were randomly divided into three escalating dose groups. The treatments were planned for up to three cycles, repeated at eight-to 12-week intervals. Hematologic parameters, liver function, and kidney function were tested at baseline, one week, and four weeks after each cycle of treatment. The patients were scanned at the start of the trial, some days before the second and third cycles of treatment, and two to three months after their last PPRT cycle.

The patients tolerated 177Lu-DOTA-EB-TATE well, with good tumor response with almost no side effects. The study was published in the 2021 March issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine .

"177Lu-DOTA-EB-TATE with longer circulation half-life and high tumor accumulation appears to have more potent anti-cancer efficacy than Lutathera, and at a much lower dose. We hope reversible albumin binding through Evans blue derivatives will create various novel therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals that can be effective for not only NET patients but also other types of cancer patients overexpressing different molecular targets," Prof Chen said.

Associate Professor Quek Swee Tian, Head, Department of Diagnostic Radiology at the National University Hospital, said PRRT has been shown to confer a longer progression-free survival and a significantly higher response rate in patients with advanced neuroendocrine cancers as compared to first line medical therapy. "The development of 177Lu-DOTA-EB-TATE, with its improved pharmacokinetics, has further advanced the PRRT therapeutic technology and holds promise for even better therapeutic efficacy and a more efficient workflow for our patients with a drug infusion time a fraction of standard PRRT."

The technology has been licensed to Molecular Targeting Technologies, Inc. (MTTI) and an Investigational New Drug (IND) application has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study: Increase in taking HIV meds using Amazon Prime model

2021-03-09
Home delivery of HIV medicines in South Africa significantly increased viral suppression compared to those who received clinical care, according to a study by researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine. The study, conducted with Amazon.com guidance during COVID-19 restrictions in South Africa, showed that among study participants, paying a fee for home delivery and monitoring of antiretroviral therapy (ART) was highly acceptable in the context of low income and high unemployment, and improved health outcomes as a result. The researching findings were ...

A new predictive model helps identify those at risk for severe COVID-19

2021-03-09
Researchers at the Buck Institute analyzed data from the COVID-19 Symptom Tracker app used by 3 million people in the United Kingdom, adding the use of immunosuppressant medication, use of a mobility aid, shortness of breath, fever, and fatigue to the list of symptoms and comorbidities that increase the risk for severe COVID-19. Results are published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. "Even though there are established risk factors for severe COVID-19 there are no good predictors that enable healthcare providers, or even those who have tested positive, to assess who should seek advanced medical care," says Buck Institute ...

Study reveals process to explain how maternal stress triggers idiopathic preterm birth

Study reveals process to explain how maternal stress triggers idiopathic preterm birth
2021-03-09
TAMPA, Fla. (March 8, 2021) -- Preterm birth is a END ...

Bridge built between Kähler-Einstein and Chen-Ning Yang's Equations

2021-03-09
Recently, Prof. CHEN Gao from Institute of Geometry and Physics of the University of Science and Technology of China has made breakthrough in the field of complex differential geometry. Using mathematical invention, he buildt a new bridge between the relativity of Einstein and quantum mechanics. This work was published in Inventiones Mathematicae. In the field of complex differential geometry, there are two crucial physical equations: the Hermitian-Yang-Mills equation, which became the standard model of quantum mechanics, and the Kähler-Einstein equation, which is closely related to relativity. To stably solve these two equations ...

Can chips replace animal testing?

2021-03-09
A team of researchers led by Professor Yaakov Nahmias, director of the Grass Center for Bioengineering at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and founder of Tissue Dynamic, introduced a new technological approach that has the potential to rapidly develop new drugs without the need for animal experiments. According to Professor Nahmias, "Drug development is a long and expensive endeavor that is defined by multiple failures. The main reason for this failure is that clinical experiments are ultimately based on minimal information gained from animal experiment which often fail to replicate the human response." The primary animals used in drug development ...

Microchips of the future: Suitable insulators are still missing

Microchips of the future: Suitable insulators are still missing
2021-03-09
For decades, there has been a trend in microelectronics towards ever smaller and more compact transistors. 2D materials such as graphene are seen as a beacon of hope here: they are the thinnest material layers that can possibly exist, consisting of only one or a few atomic layers. Nevertheless, they can conduct electrical currents - conventional silicon technology, on the other hand, no longer works properly if the layers become too thin. However, such materials are not used in a vacuum; they have to be combined with suitable insulators - in order to seal them off from unwanted environmental influences, and ...

Universal prosodic cues facilitate learning in both animals and humans

Universal prosodic cues facilitate learning in both animals and humans
2021-03-09
Prosody is a branch of linguistics that analyses and formally represents the elements of oral expression such as pitch, tones and intonation. A study published in Cognition on 5 February shows that there are universal prosodic cues that help with learning in humans and in animals. This study, published by Juan Manuel Toro, ICREA research professor and Paola Crespo-Bojorque, researchers of the Center for Brain and Cognition (CBC) of the UPF Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DTIC), is part of the research into language evolution that is being conducted thanks to a European Research Council Starting Grant. Some of the mechanisms we humans use to learn language are based on general principles ...

Bird parents that receive help live longer

2021-03-09
Long life is common among bird parents that get help with childcare. This finding comes from researchers at the universities of Lund and Oxford who reviewed data from more than 9,000 studies. Being a parent can be tough. In general, animals that care for many offspring die young, at least in species where parents are not helped by others. However, in some species things are different and parents recruit 'helpers' to assist with childcare. In such group-living species, parents often produce lots of young and also live an exceptionally long time. This new research ...

New therapeutic approach discovered for reducing the risk of thrombosis

New therapeutic approach discovered for reducing the risk of thrombosis
2021-03-09
Thrombotic occlusion of blood vessels, which leads to myocardial infarctions, strokes and venous thromboembolisms, is the major cause of death in the western hemisphere. Therefore, it is of critical importance to understand mechanisms preventing thrombus formation. A new study by the research group of Christoph Binder, Principal Investigator at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Professor at the Medical University of Vienna, now explains the important role of immunoglobulin-M (IgM) antibodies in preventing thrombosis. The study published in the journal Blood shows that these antibodies recognize microvesicles, which are ...

Two species and a single name: 'Double identity' revealed in a venomous banana spider

Two species and a single name: Double identity revealed in a venomous banana spider
2021-03-09
Spiders from the genus Phoneutria - also known as banana spiders - are considered aggressive and among the most venomous spiders in the world, with venom that has a neurotoxic action. These large nocturnal spiders usually inhabit environments disturbed by humans and are often found in banana plantations in the Neotropical region. One of these spiders, P. boliviensis, is a medically important species widely distributed in Central and South America, whose behaviour, habitat, venom composition, toxicity and bites on humans have already been paid considerable attention in previous research work. Nevertheless, after examining a large pool of museum specimens, biologists from The George Washington University (N. Hazzi and G. Hormiga) began to ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

[Press-News.org] Lower dose, less toxic radiopharmaceutical produces better outcomes
NUS and Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) researchers successfully trial new, improved treatment for neuroendocrine cancers