A new way to prevent excruciating pain from the side effects of advanced prostate cancer therapy has been developed.
Many men with advanced prostate cancer receive powerful treatment that targets the cancer cells directly.
But this treatment can seriously damage the salivary glands, causing severe dry mouth. This makes it difficult to eat, swallow and even talk, and for some patients the discomfort is so intense that they choose to stop treatment even though it could save their lives.
The new approach, conducted by scientists at Case Western Reserve University, is described in a recent study published in the journal Molecular imaging and biology.
The researchers say their treatment is just as effective at finding and destroying prostate cancer cells as current methods, but causes much less damage to the salivary glands.
The treatment works by targeting a protein called PSMA, which stands for Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen and is found in high amounts on prostate cancer cells.
The therapy uses a method called radioligand therapy, which involves attaching a small radioactive particle to a conducting molecule.
This molecule works like a GPS system and sends radiation directly to the cancer cells, while leaving most of the healthy tissue alone.
This type of precision treatment is one of the most exciting options for patients with end-stage prostate cancer because it works like a smart missile that focuses on the cancer cells.
But the problem is the damage it does to the salivary glands, which also have PSMA and are affected by the radiation. The result is a very dry mouth, which makes daily life difficult for many patients.
Dr. James Basilion, professor of biomedical engineering at Case Western, explained that previous attempts to reduce this side effect have not worked well. But now the team has created a new lead molecule called PSMA-1-DOTA, which has better targeting capabilities than the older ones.
Dr. Xinning Wang, who helped lead the study, said PSMA-1-DOTA binds to cancer cells four times better than current treatments.
DOTA is a special compound that holds radioactive metals tightly. This helps keep the radioactive part stable and connected to the molecule that targets the cancer cells.
In laboratory tests, PSMA-1-DOTA showed strong results. It still attacked the tumors effectively, but caused much less damage to the salivary and lacrimal glands. This means that the new treatment can almost eliminate the risk of dry mouth, while retaining the same power to fight cancer.
