-ISTOCK. – Archive
MADRID, 9 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Ovarian cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat, and many patients face treatments that stop working over time. The fight against the disease can feel endless, leaving patients and families with few alternatives.
A group of US researchers has explored an innovative approach that could change this situation. Their work opens the door to new strategies that combine existing therapies with still little-known methods, raising hope for significant advances in oncology.
HOW OVARIAN CANCER EVADES CURRENT TREATMENTS
Researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center (United States) have discovered a novel combination of therapies that could offer new hope to patients with ovarian cancer who do not respond to existing treatments. Conducted entirely at the University of Colorado Anschutz in the United States, this research has advanced from the laboratory to a Phase 1 clinical trial on campus.
The findings, published in Cancer Research Communications, describe a promising strategy that combines a PARP inhibitor, a targeted drug to treat certain types of ovarian cancer, with a novel therapy, SM08502, to attack the cancer on two fronts. This innovative approach increases treatment effectiveness, even in patients who no longer respond to PARP inhibitor therapy.
“This achievement exemplifies true innovation, from the lab to healthcare, carried out entirely at CU Anschutz,” says Dr. Bradley Corr, first author of the paper, associate professor and director of clinical research in gynecologic oncology at CU Anschutz.
“As far as we know, This is the first clinical trial to successfully combine these classes of drugs.. While the concept has already been discussed, no one has applied it to clinical practice until now. “This is what makes this approach truly novel,” he adds.
A NEW DRUG THAT ATTACKS CANCER FROM TWO FRONTS
Ovarian cancer, particularly high-grade serous ovarian cancer, is notoriously difficult to treat. PARP inhibitors, used as a treatment for ovarian cancer for more than a decade, have transformed care for patients with a BRCA genetic mutation or homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), significantly extending survival rates. However, many ovarian cancer patients eventually develop resistance to PARP inhibitors, leaving few treatment alternatives.
CU Cancer Center experts discovered that when cancer cells become resistant to PARP inhibitors, they activate a backup survival system called WNT signaling. This helps the cancer continue to grow in certain patients, even when PARP drugs should stop it.
Because of this result, they decided to try a new therapy called SM08502 (Cirtuvivint). They found that, rather than directly blocking WNT signaling (which can cause adverse side effects), this drug changes the way certain cancer genes are processed (spliced), which indirectly inhibits WNT signaling. This resulted in promising findings: SM08502 alone slowed tumor growth in laboratory tests, demonstrating that the drug has an anti-cancer effect.
When combined with a PARP inhibitor (such as Olaparib), it kills more cancer cells, causes more DNA damage (making it harder for cancer to survive), and reduces immune suppression (meaning the body’s immune system can fight cancer more effectively).
This is the first combination therapy that targets two different cancer survival mechanisms: PARP and WNT signaling. This means that the cancer has fewer avenues for survival, which increases the effectiveness of the treatment.
The authors mention that this approach has the potential to extend beyond ovarian cancer to other tumors with similar resistance mechanisms. Both drugs are oral, making treatment easier to access, and the combination could even help reduce the risks associated with long-term use of PARP inhibitors.
