Doctors Excited About Targeted Prostate Cancer Therapy But Can't Prescribe It Yet

Radioligand Therapy: A New Pillar in Cancer Treatment

Radioligand therapy (RLT) is a precision cancer treatment that delivers lethal radiation therapy specifically targeted to cancer cells and generally spares the normal tissues. This therapy involves finding a target, which is usually a receptor on the surface of cancer cells that does not exist in healthy tissue. Successful RLT depends on identifying that receptor in each patient’s cancer cells using a PET scan, followed by delivering the right radioactive medication that binds to the cancer cells and kills them without harming healthy cells. Unlike traditional radiation, which has considerably higher side-effects, RLT minimizes harm to healthy cells.

The Clinical Trial

Clinical trial patient Dale Cousins was thrilled after receiving a new prostate cancer treatment, RLT. Cousins was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010 and has been through many treatments, including surgery. After being stable for several years, a scan last year revealed his cancer had spread, and he was enrolled in the trial. He had a “dramatic reduction” in cancerous lesions and his prostate-specific antigen levels have decreased significantly. Radioligand therapy (RLT) is poised to become a new “pillar” of cancer care, alongside surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Prostate Cancer Patients and RLT

Health Canada approved a radioactive drug, Pluvicto, used in RLT, in August 2022 for patients whose prostate cancer has spread and chemotherapy has failed. Past clinical trials have shown RLT’s effectiveness. However, negotiations on how much it should cost government health plans are ongoing, and prostate cancer patients who aren’t part of a clinical trial do not have free access to it. Some men with prostate cancer require the treatment to improve their quality of life and live longer, according to Dr. David Laidley, a nuclear oncologist with Western University and London Health Sciences Centre.

Neuroendocrine Tumours and RLT

Radioligand therapy for cancer is currently publicly available for patients with neuroendocrine tumours, an uncommon but not rare cancer that starts in neuroendocrine cells in the gastrointestinal system or the pancreas. Another radioactive drug delivered through RLT, called Lutathera, has been approved in Canada as a last line of cancer treatment. The trial results were published in The Lancet last month, showing that RLT could be used as a “starting treatment.” Radioligand treatment using different radioactive drugs is currently in clinical trials for other types of cancers.

Radioligand Therapy Revolutionizes Cancer Treatment

RLT is a new pillar in cancer care that will revolutionize the way cancer is treated completely in the years to come. The Canadian Cancer Society calls RLT “a remarkable breakthrough” that started with Lutathera for neuroendocrine cancer around 2018. RLT also has “considerably lower” side-effects compared to traditional radiation because it minimizes harm to healthy cells, says Stuart Edmonds, a pharmacology expert and the cancer society’s executive vice-president of mission, research, and advocacy. RLT’s effectiveness in prolonging life for patients with metastatic prostate cancer who have run out of other treatment options has been proven, and clinical trials will be conducted across Canada looking at whether Pluvicto can be used for prostate cancer patients in much earlier stages of the disease.

Conclusion

RLT is poised to become a new “pillar” of cancer care, alongside surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Radioligand therapy (RLT) works because it provides precision cancer treatment that delivers lethal radiation therapy specifically targeted to cancer cells and generally spares the normal tissues. A radioactive drug, Pluvicto, used in RLT, has already been approved by Health Canada for patients whose prostate cancer has spread and chemotherapy has failed. Even though RLT’s effectiveness in prolonging life for patients has been proven, negotiations on how much it should cost government health plans are ongoing. In the meantime, RLT is publicly available only for patients with neuroendocrine tumours.

Originally Post From https://lethbridgeherald.com/business/2024/07/06/doctors-excited-about-targeted-prostate-cancer-therapy-but-cant-prescribe-it-yet/

Doctors Excited About Targeted Prostate Cancer Therapy But Can’t Prescribe It Yet