Viral therapies that fight ovarian cancer to be trialled using PET scanning

Viruses tailored to fight the disease can now be tested in clinical trials thanks to new research - News Release

Imperial College London and Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry joint news release

Under strict embargo for
12.01 EST / 17.01 BST
Friday 15 September 2006

Viruses tailored to fight ovarian cancer can now be tested in clinical trials, thanks to new research published today in the journal Cancer Research. The findings, by researchers from Imperial College London and Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, show that by using positron emission tomography (PET) scanning, it is possible to track the progress of virus therapies as they attack cancer cells. As a result, researchers carrying out clinical trials into the new therapies will be able to see how they work inside a living body without using invasive techniques.

The research demonstrates how PET scanning can be used to see both how the virus behaves and how the cancer responds. This means that scientists can gain an accurate picture of the effects of the drug therapies whilst they are working in the body, and refine and improve them accordingly.

Ovarian cancer causes changes that are difficult to quantify by conventional imaging due to the location, presentation and biological characteristics of the disease. PET scanning, however, is a nuclear medicine imaging technique which produces a three dimensional image of the body. It enables researchers to see early changes in the development of the disease which happen before changes in the size of the tumour.

Self-replicating viral therapies, previously mainly trialled on animal models, are versions of viruses that are tailored to replicate inside the body and to infect and kill cancer cells. They are designed to multiply and kill cancerous cells rather than healthy ones.

Trials in animal models have shown that these therapies can be effective in fighting tumours but that their effectiveness is limited to a certain time period, after which point the viruses die. The researchers hope that analysing the behaviour of the viruses using PET scanning will allow them to alter the viruses' properties to increase their effectiveness.

Professor Eric Aboagye, one of the researchers on the study from Imperial College's department of Oncology and Imaging Science and the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, said: "Using self-replicating viruses to fight cancer is a relatively new idea and it shows a lot of promise for fighting diseases such as ovarian cancer, where sadly the prognosis for patients is quite poor.

"In order to make the best possible therapies we have to be able to see exactly how they work inside the body. This new research shows we can do this fairly quickly and easily with PET scanning and it means we can test this and newer versions of the viruses in clinical trials, taking the development of such therapies an important step forward," he added.

PET scanning works by scanning for a radioactive tracer injected into the body. Where the viral therapies kill cancerous cells, their uptake of the tracer is reduced and these changes are visible on the scanner.

Dr Iain McNeish, a researcher from Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry and a co-author on the paper added: "These results are extremely exciting. For the first time, we can image the effects that our viruses are having upon cancer cells within whole living organisms very rapidly. As a result of these results, we will be using PET scanning on patients being treated with self-replicating viruses in the clinical trials that we hope will be starting at Barts Hospital in 2007."

The research was funded by Cancer Research UK. Dr McNeish will be leading clinical trials into the new therapies in conjunction with the Cancer Research UK Drug development office.

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For further information please contact:

Laura Gallagher
Press Officer
Communications
Imperial College London
e-mail: L.Gallagher@imperial.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)207 594 6702 or ext. 46702

Alex Fernandes
Communications Office
Queen Mary, University of London
Tel: 020 7882 7910
Email: a.fernandes@qmul.ac.uk

-Notes to editors-

1. "Quantifying the activity of adenoviral E1A CR2 deletion mutants using renilla luciferase bioluminescence and 3'-Deoxy-3'[18F]Fluorothymidine Positron Emission Tomography Imaging"
Julius Leyton(1), Michelle Lockley(1), Joeri L. Aerts(1), Sarah K. Baird(1) Eric O. Aboagye(2), Nicholas R. Lemoine(1) and Iain A. McNeish(1)

(1) Cancer Research UK Molecular Oncology Unit, Barts and the London School of Medicine
(2) Molecular Therapy and Oncology Research Group, Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London

2. About Imperial College London

Consistently rated in the top three UK university institutions, Imperial College London is a world leading science-based university whose reputation for excellence in teaching and research attracts students (11,000) and staff (6,000) of the highest international quality. Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions that enhance the quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.
Website: www.imperial.ac.uk

3. About Queen Mary, University of London

Queen Mary is one of the leading colleges in the federal University of London, with over 11,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, and an academic and support staff of around 2,600. Queen Mary is a research university, with over 80 per cent of research staff working in departments where research is of international or national excellence (RAE 2001). It has a strong international reputation, with around 20 per cent of students coming from over 100 countries. The College has 21 academic departments and institutes organised into three sectors: Science and Engineering; Humanities, Social Sciences and Laws; and the School of Medicine and Dentistry. It has an annual turnover of £200 million, research income worth £43 million, and it generates employment and output worth nearly £500 million to the UK economy each year. Queen Mary's roots lie in four historic colleges: Queen Mary College, Westfield College, St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College and the London Hospital Medical College.

4. About Cancer Research UK

* Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to beat cancer.
* Cancer Research UK carries out world-class research to improve understanding of the disease and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different kinds of cancer.
* Cancer Research UK ensures that its findings are used to improve the lives of all cancer patients.
* Cancer Research UK helps people to understand cancer, the progress that is being made and the choices each person can make.
* Cancer Research UK works in partnership with others to achieve the greatest impact in the global fight against cancer.