Scientists from four universities including the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) have published an overview of molecules that could help in the treatment and diagnosis of prostate cancer – the most common cancer among men in the Western world.
Skoltech's scientists were among the team of researchers studying the treatment of prostate cancer. Photo: Sk.ru
The Skoltech scientists worked on the project together with colleagues from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Moscow State University (MSU) and the National University of Science and Technology (MISIS), and published their findings in the Journal of Drug Targeting.
“Currently, most cancer treatment methods are not selective enough, and have a harmful effect not only on the cancer cells, but also on the healthy cells,” the MIPT said in a statement on its website. “This is why it’s so important to develop drugs that would only attack the cancer cells, increasing the efficiency of treatment methods and lowering the negative impact of treatment on the organism as a whole.”
To achieve this, a cancer marker is needed – something that is present only in the cancer cells.
Currently, prostate specific antigen (PSA) is used as a marker in the diagnosis of prostate cancer, but it lacks precision, the MIPT statement said. The scientists were studying compounds that can interact with prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a more precise marker that also makes it possible to identify metastases – secondary tumours.
“PSMA is one of the most promising biological targets for the development of new hybrids of selective PSMA ligands with antitumor medicinal substances or molecular diagnostic methods for their targeted delivery to the site of the disease, particularly in the case of prostate cancer," Yan Ivanenkov, head of the MIPT laboratory of medical chemistry and bioinformatics, was cited as saying in the MIPT statement.
The researchers studied 11 compounds that interact with PSMA and could therefore be suitable for use in a cancer treatment drug, MIPT said on its website. The compounds being studied were all from the most promising group of molecules for use with PSMA – ligands. All of them are currently at the stage of clinical trials, having demonstrated the necessary qualities during preclinical trials. The team of scientists recorded the competitive advantages of the 11 molecules.
“It’s impossible to say exactly when PSMA ligands will appear in clinics,” said Anastasia Aladinskaya, a member of staff of the laboratory of medical chemistry and bioinformatics.
“On average, it takes up to 10 years to develop a medical drug. Right now, these molecules are at the first and second phases of clinical trials studying the diagnosis of prostate cancer. But the fact that PSMA diagnosis makes it possible to monitor the development of tumours and metastases makes this target interesting for the future development of medical treatments. The first results are already available, and they are very promising,” she said.
Skoltech researchers also announced another achievement recently, in cooperation with partners from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Texas at Austin. The scientists announced the discovery of a new catalyst that improves the efficiency of water electrolysis to oxygen and hydrogen – a reaction essential to enabling emerging renewable energy technologies for the production of hydrogen.
The group of scientists published their work in the journal Nature Communications.