National Cancer Institute 5R01CA255925-04

Highly selective targeted theranostics for prostate cancers

NIH grant awarded to Case Western Reserve University for developing a targeted theranostic agent for prostate cancer using a dual-drug delivery system targeting PSMA, with testing in mice and dogs for clinical translation potential.

Description

This project aims to develop a PSMA-targeted therapeutic agent combining chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy for prostate cancer. The agent will be optimized in small animal models and tested in large animal models (dogs), which naturally develop prostate cancer similar to humans. The therapy involves a novel ligand targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) to deliver two drugs: MMAE (a microtubule inhibitor) and IR700 (a photosensitizer), using a prodrug approach for selective delivery and activation. The project will utilize heterotopic human prostate cancer in mice and spontaneous prostate cancer in dogs to evaluate efficacy and safety. The goal is to produce a cost-effective, targeted theranostic agent with potential for clinical translation.

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