The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) is starting a new clinical trial on a potential treatment for metastatic prostate cancer.
The RI-MUHC is the first centre around the world to be conducting the trail, which will use a radioactive isotope — Actinium-225 — for the treatment.
“We are very excited to be testing Actinium-225 and to be the first centre in the world to start this clinical trial,” says Dr. Ramy Saleh, Medical Oncologist at the MUHC’s Cedars Cancer Centre and Medical Director, Oncology, at the Centre for Innovative Medicine (CIM) at the RI-MUHC. “It’s a great satisfaction for our team because it’s the result of our sustained efforts to bring the latest therapeutic advances to our patients.”
The study will evaluate the the drug’s ability to act without adverse effects and the subject’s ability to withstand adverse effects of Actinium-225, which works by targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA).
Patients will also be monitored on how the drug interacts with tumours and healthy organs, find out if it is well tolerated, and determine the right dose that could be used in future studies.
The RI-MUHC says PSMA is found in 80 per cent of metastatic prostate cancer patients. Noting it is highly expressed in prostate tumoral cells but is hardly present in the rest of the body.
Actinium-225 attaches to the PSMA receptors, finds the cancer cells, where it then emits radiation to kill them by breaking their DNA strands.
“Other clinical trials have shown that similar treatment with drugs that target PSMA can reduce prostate cancer tumour burden and potentially improve prognosis. So, although we don’t know if the drug we’re studying will improve the health of our patients, we see this trial as our best hope,” adds Dr. Saleh, who is also Medical Director of the Phase 1 Research Unit at the CIM, Investigator in the Cancer Research Program at the RI-MUHC and Assistant Professor in the Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology at McGill University.
The treatment has been developed by US company POINT Biopharma, and will be administered by intravenous injection to 50 patients with metastatic castration-resistant (mCRPC) or biochemically recurrent (BCR) prostate cancer, for whom standard of care treatments have failed. Different doses will be tested and patients will be followed for five years to monitor any side effects.
“This world first confirms that the RI-MUHC, by fostering collaboration between its researchers and industry experts, has established a leadership position in Canada’s clinical trials ecosystem. The Centre for Innovative Medicine not only brings the latest experimental therapies to patients, but also attracts the most innovative pharmaceutical companies, both nationally and internationally, at every stage of clinical trials,” says Dr. Louise Pilote, Director (interim) of the CIM and Deputy Director of the RI-MUHC.
Prostate cancer affects roughly 1 in 8 Canadian men, and is the cause of death of 1 in 30, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. It is also the third leading cause of cancer-related-death in men.