Survival from a rare but deadly childhood cancer could improve by applying an existing drug that’s currently used to manage excess copper in the body says Australian study.
The drug can be used to weaken tumours and strengthen the fighting capacity of immune cells, increasing the success rate of a cancer treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma from 10% to 50%, new UNSW research showed.
The findings offer hope for those with neuroblastoma, which accounts for 15% of childhood cancer deaths. Despite aggressive treatments, children diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma have a one in two chance of surviving the disease—dropping to one in 10 for children who relapse.
Researchers applied the drug TETA—or “triethylenetetramine”—which is marketed as Cuprior and used to treat Wilson’s disease, a genetic disorder resulting in excess copper build up. Work in animal models showed it strengthened neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that helps the body fight infection and heal injuries, by transferring copper from one to the other.
Lead researcher and senior report author, Associate Professor Orazio Vittorio, from UNSW’s School of Biomedical Sciences and the Children’s Cancer Institute, said “When we combine it with the immunotherapy currently used for neuroblastoma, we can increase the survival rate for high-risk cases from 10% to 50%.”
“It is one of the most important therapies developed, but it only works if there is a strong immune system,” A/Prof. Vittorio said.
The researchers, from a dozen institutions including Children’s Cancers Institute, The University of Western Australia, Curtin University and the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, tested the drug in mice, and plan to start a multi-year clinical trial next year.
