Protein Shines Light On Cancer Response

Researchers have reported the finding of a protein that, when tagged, is able to locate specific tumors which respond to chemotherapy. The method of tagging is a type of light-emitting molecule, and the research was conducted in mice. Dr. Hallahan and his team of colleagues found a specific peptide which was able to bind to tumors undergoing chemotherapy. This peptide was then attached to a light emitting molecule. After locating the tumors with cameras which detect light in the near infrared range, it was found that the tumors responding to therapy were brighter than the others. This new therapy offers a way of determining the success/failure of a chemotherapy treatment within the first few days of starting the treatment. In the tests conducted on mice, the treatment was able to report cancer response in as little as two days after starting the therapy. Currently it takes two to three months of cancer therapy before determining whether that treatment is effective or not. This is because the current methods of monitoring chemotherapy are imaging techniques such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. If that amount of time could be reduced to two to three days, it could help doctors switch patients to alternative methods of treatment very quickly. Dr. Dennis Hallahan says that quick evaluation of tumor response is of critical importance, especially with modern progress in molecular targeted chemotherapies. He says that focusing on molecular and cellular changes in a tumor were of more importance than the size of the tumor itself. Obviously, the main question now is determining whether this treatment in mice will work in humans. One problem is that the near-infrared technique cannot penetrate deep enough into human tissues, so researchers are modifying the therapy so that it works with Positron Emission Tomography. However, Dr. Hallahan is still hopeful, and says that the peptide will enter clinical trials in about 18 months.

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