Pre-Targeted Radioimmunotherapy for Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumors
Desmoplastic small round cell tumor is a rare cancer that affects children and young adults. Most patients have very advanced disease already when they are diagnosed, and the long-term survival rate is low. Current treatments can't cure DSRCT and are very toxic. Patients who do survive are often left with debilitating side effects that last the rest of their lives. We have developed a new type of radiation therapy that targets the tumor cells specifically without harming normal tissue. In mice, this type of therapy can cure tumors without causing toxicity.
Project Goal:
The goal of our project is to test our new therapy in cells in mice to determine if it can destroy tumors and to make sure it doesn't cause toxicity to normal organs. If these experiments are successful, doctors could start clinical trials using our therapy based on the evidence we generate during this project. Our long-term goal is to develop therapy that can cure DSRCT without leaving patients with lifelong adverse effects.
Project Update 2024:
Our experiments show that B7-H3 and HER2 are good targets for pre-targeting radioimmunotherapy of desmoplastic small round cell tumors. Using our lab's self-assembling, disassembling antibody platform, we were able to deliver the radioactive isotope 225-Ac to tumors expressing these proteins without causing major toxicity. The tumors shrank completely and remained undetectable for several months. In the next year we plan to further refine the timing of the treatments to eliminate toxicity to the blood so that we may give higher doses of radiation to prevent tumor recurrence.
