A world-first cancer trial at a Brisbane hospital is targeting difficult to treat cancers that have spread throughout the body.
The Princess Alexandra Hospital, in Woolloongabba, is trialling targeted alpha therapy on patients with advanced prostate cancer to specifically target and kill prostate cancer cells, while minimising damage to healthy tissue and organs.
PA Hospital, through its Integrated Theranostic Centre, is partnering with AdvanCell, an Australian radiopharmaceutical company which specialises in alpha isotopes based on Lead (212Pb) that are attached to small molecules that bind and deliver the radiation directly to cancer cells via infusion.
Theranostics involves an injection of a radioactive material that targets a specific cancer type. These agents have been shown to be highly effective, have fewer side effects and minimise damage to surrounding healthy tissues compared to conventional oncology treatments.
The Integrated Theranostic Centre was formed in 2023 as a partnership between Radiology/Nuclear Medicine and Medical Oncology, making PA Hospital one of the few centres in Australia offering this service.
The targeted alpha therapy for prostate cancer study is one of just a number of ground-breaking theranostics trials underway.
PA Hospital Medical Oncologist Dr Aaron Hansen said the hospital was also involved in a trial using a combination of theranostics and immunotherapy for the treatment of patients with Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer (ES-SCLC).
“Beside prostate cancer and ES-SCLC, we’re also involved in using theranostics for other clinical trials involving non-small cell lung cancers, merkel cell and renal cell carcinomas,” Dr Hansen said.
