New light-activatable drugs for antitumor treatment? – Health and Medicine

2024-02-03 01:29:51

Researchers are already testing safety and efficacy in animal models.

Virtual image of a cluster of cancer cells.

Some of the most aggressive solid tumors, such as glioblastoma and pancreatic, colorectal and breast cancers, have a very low oxygen concentration inside, a phenomenon known as hypoxia. Unfortunately, patients diagnosed with this type of tumor experience rapid disease progression and a poor prognosis, largely attributed to the failure of conventional antitumor therapies, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy, which generally show lower efficacy in hypoxic conditions.

Photodynamic therapy is a non-invasive technique currently used clinically for the destruction of tumors, as well as for the treatment of some skin conditions, fungal and microbial infections, and age-related macular degeneration. It is based on the use of special drugs, called photosensitizers, which are activated with light of a suitable wavelength with the ability to pass through biological tissues. However, the fact that the activity of the photosensitizers currently available on the market is very dependent on the concentration of oxygen makes it difficult for photodynamic therapy to become a general technique for the treatment of any type of cancer, especially tumors. hypoxic.

A team led by Vicente Marchán, from the University of Barcelona, ​​has recently patented a new family of photosensitizers that, in addition to being non-toxic in the dark and being able to be activated effectively by irradiation with light from the phototherapeutic window, present excellent activity. in conditions of low oxygen concentration, which opens the door to the treatment of deep and large hypoxic tumors using photodynamic therapy. Since the ultimate goal of the project is to facilitate the transfer of these new antitumor drugs to the pharmaceutical industry so that they ultimately reach patients, safety and efficacy tests are currently being carried out in animal models. In addition, their binding to peptides and other biomolecules is being explored to give them greater selectivity towards certain tumors. M.B.