A new light therapy to defeat one of the deadliest cancers 💡

Ovarian cancer is particularly dangerous due to the high risk of metastasis. Researchers have developed a molecule capable, under light control, of specifically targeting peritoneal metastases and destroying them by oxidation. Published in the Journal of Controlled Release, this work opens a new therapeutic avenue.


The most lethal gynecological cancer, ovarian cancer is treated with a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. However, the disease recurs in 60% of cases, mainly due to residual lesions from peritoneal carcinomatosis, i.e., the spread of cancer cells within the peritoneum. Improving survival rates therefore involves eliminating ovarian cancer cells while limiting the risk of the therapy attacking healthy tissues.

Researchers from the Laboratoire réactions et génie des procédés (LRGP, CNRS/Univ. Lorraine), the laboratory Thérapies assistées par lasers et immunothérapies pour l'oncologie (OncoThAI, CHU Lille/INSERM/Université de Lille), and the Laboratoire de chimie-physique macromoléculaire (LCPM, CNRS/Univ. Lorraine) have worked on a new form of targeted therapy, called photodynamic therapy (PDT), to treat these ovarian-derived peritoneal metastases.

PDT is a medical treatment modality based on three essential elements: light, oxygen, and a photosensitizer (PS). The latter is a drug that, when excited by a light beam, produces oxidizing species that will destroy cancer cells. PDT is already commonly used in dermatological clinics.

In this work, the PS was modified so that it could specifically target cancer cells, making the treatment more effective but, above all, limiting the risk of attacking healthy tissues. To achieve this, scientists first grafted it to folic acid, a molecule that targets receptors overexpressed in ovarian-derived peritoneal metastases.

The photosensitizer thus obtained has been patented by these teams. Once the drug has accumulated in the cancer cells, a light device triggers its oxidizing action using well-defined wavelengths.

This work is currently being valorized with the support of two Technology Transfer Acceleration Companies (SATT). In a second phase, these teams have also received new funding to develop even more stable folic acid analogs and to give them optimal immunostimulatory capabilities. In vitro tests have been carried out and in vivo tests are planned.

References:
Targeted Photodynamic Therapy using a Vectorized Photosensitizer coupled to Folic Acid Analog induces Ovarian Tumor Cell Death and inhibits IL-6-mediated Inflammation.
Journal of Controlled Release, Volume 371, July 2024.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.05.033
Article available on the open archive database HAL