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Study: Drug Targets Tumor's Blood Vessels

Posted on: Monday, 12 February 2007, 15:01 CST

A new antibody that is the first cancer treatment to target the tumor's blood supply shows promise in a range of cancers, say U.S. researchers.

A phase 1 study tested an antibody called J591, targeted to the prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), said researchers at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.

The treatment represents a unique approach to fighting cancer because existing, so-called anti-angiogenic cancer therapies work by starving tumors of their blood supply indirectly, by reducing blood vessel growth signals.

However, J591 works by directly targeting PSMA on the cells of the tumor's blood vessels and then zooming in for the kill, researchers said.

We showed that J591 can directly target the tumor's blood vessels, said Neil Bander, a urological cancer specialist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. That's an important first. It represents the difference between laying siege to a village vs. sending in troops with heavy artillery. Current anti-angiogenic approaches starve the blood vessels of growth signals, but with J591, one directly targets a lethal blow right at the tumor blood supply.

The phase 1 study involved 27 cancer patients with a wide range of solid tumors, including kidney, bladder, lung, breast, colorectal, pancreas and melanoma, and all had failed conventional treatments.

The findings appear in the Feb. 10 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Source: United Press International

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