New study using nuclear medicine and rare isotopes in the fight against cancer

Dr. Len Luyt, Lawson scientist and professor at Western University in London, Ont. (Source: Lawson Health Research Institute)

Scientists at Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University are working to create rare isotopes that will be used as a tool to help treat cancer in a national multicentre study.

Currently, radiation therapy is a staple in cancer treatment, treating about 50 per cent of patients. Although effective, these intense beams of energy are limited to select locations, making them less suited for difficult-to-treat metastatic cancers that have spread to multiple sites.

“Cancer treatment has evolved over the years with targeted drugs that go straight to the cancer and advanced radiation therapy. However, radiation comes from an external source that can damage other areas in the body,” said Dr. Len Luyt, Lawson scientist and professor at Western. “We are now working to advance treatment further by combining radiation and targeted drug therapy.”

The therapies work like a homing device — using specially designed molecules to seek out and deliver radioactive isotopes directly to cancer cells.

The London, Ont. team will focus on developing the radio pharmaceuticals at labs in the London Regional Cancer Program at LHSC, the Cyclotron located at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, and at Western.

“This approach is showing promise in prostate cancer and now this team-based approach is looking at targeting any metastatic cancer,” said Dr. Luyt.

This collaborative research project has received $23.7 million in federal funding through the New Frontiers Research Fund (NFRF) over six years.