For decades, chemotherapy and radiotherapy have been the mainstays of treatment for cancer, but the side-effects from high doses can be life-long and devastating for children. Thanks to the generous support of our donor community, Telethon Kids Cancer Centre is leading the charge to find innovative new treatments that will allow doctors to ‘dial down’ the amount of toxic treatments needed to fight cancer.
Cancer is a cruel illness, especially when it affects children. The horrifying blow of receiving a cancer diagnosis for a child is amplified by the reality that the treatments they will need to stay alive can cause untold long-term damage.
Hearing problems, vision loss, fertility struggles and even the risk of the treatments causing secondary cancers are common side effects. The life-saving treatments can take an enormous toll on their young bodies, which are still growing and developing.
Professor Terrance Johns, Head of the Telethon Kids Cancer Centre, is more determined than ever to make treatments less toxic and less damaging for kids battling cancer, and hopes an innovative new antibody developed by Australian company Patrys Limited will hold the key.
This antibody is very exciting. It works by targeting the DNA in cancer cells which have been damaged by radiotherapy and stopping the cells from repairing themselves.
Professor Terrance Johns
“This means the radiotherapy itself will be more effective and patients will require much less of it.”
The antibody, which comes in two forms known as PAT-DX1 and PAT-DX3, is unique because it is able to cross the blood-brain barrier – something few other antibodies can do. This makes it an excellent candidate for treating brain cancers, which have not seen any new treatment options available to patients for more than 30 years.
Early lab results were extremely promising, and Professor Johns and his team hope to have the antibody treatment ready for clinical trial within 15 months.
“We are getting ready to take this antibody into the clinic in 2023,” he said.
“We want to know the best way to use it in brain cancer patients, and we want to test it in our models in combination with radiotherapy.”
Professor Johns has received support from the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation to begin the necessary lab work to test the antibody’s effectiveness on stopping brain cancer cells from repairing themselves.
Brain cancer remains a highly lethal disease and we actually believe that this is an excellent way we can help current treatment be more effective, extending lives.
Professor Terrance Johns
“This is a good antibody for a range of cancers – obviously my focus is brain cancer – but it can be taken into other cancers in both children and adults.”