Trials offer hope of non-toxic cancer treatment

A non-toxic cancer treatment that reduces high levels of copper in malignant tumours has begun trials in Sydney, which researchers hope could provide an alternative to more punishing therapies.

Researchers at the School of Biomedical Sciences within the University of New South Wales (UNSW) are looking at copper chelation therapy which uses the drug Triethylenetetramine (TETA) to bind copper ions to create a compound that the body can break down.

Tumours feed on naturally occurring copper in humans and increased levels are found in many cancer cells, which can be targeted for therapy. TETA has been used for decades in the treatment of Wilson’s disease, a hereditary disorder that prevents the body from eliminating unnecessary copper. 

Piper Schadel, a 23-year old PhD candidate at UNSW, who is part of the research team, is working on treatment relating to several subtypes of breast cancer and their metastasis. 

“We are looking to repurpose treatments used for Wilson’s disease to treat cancers that have elevated copper concentrations, and there are many,” said the researcher.

“One of the major killers for breast cancer is the increased likelihood of metastasis since it is so close to your other organs and your lymphatic system.

“One in seven women are expected to develop breast cancer by 85. It is the second most diagnosed cancer here in Australia. So that drives me to come up with a treatment option that is less toxic for them [patients], more tolerable and gives them quality of life.” 

Cancer diagnoses for those aged 40 to 49 have increased by 43 per 100,000 people from the beginning of the century with breast cancer increasing from 77 to 86 per 100,000 people. 

“Anything above 12 per 100,000 people is considered a common cancer,” said Joanne Dory, the chief executive of GI Cancer Institute. 

The GI Cancer Institute has around 1800 health professionals that target gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, which has been considered in Schadel’s research and is Australia’s most common cancer. GI cancer encompasses a range of cancers such as stomach and colon cancer.

“We’re in the treatment space. We are researching treatments ultimately to cure,” said Cory.

“When we do studies, we often add quality of life questionnaires and health economics sub-studies. We look for sub-studies where we can add value to our clinical trials to make the most of any bio-specimens that we take from the studies.”

Cory said the copper chelation research was promising. 

“Going from the lab to humans can be tricky, but in this case, if there are other indications that it’s approved for, it may be easier because you know the safety profile of the drug,” she added.

“It’s something that I expect to see a clinical trial come through and I’ll be looking out for it.”

Kellie Brandes, a 56-year old mum from Campbelltown, in Sydney’s west, was told by oncologists that she would only have three to five years to live after her diagnosis with ALK-positive Stage 4 metastatic lung cancer, a rare form of lung cancer representing only 4 per cent of patients, in 2022.

Brandes, who also suffers from multiple sclerosis and lupus, has monthly scans for the cancer, whilst on a targeted therapy using anticancer drug Alectinib to stop the spread.

“A non-toxic treatment would enable me to have a better quality of life,” she said.

“As grateful as I am for this treatment, unfortunately the downside is managing the side effects.” 

 

A study funded by Cure Cancer Australia the National Health and Medical Research Council proved TETA to increase the success rate from 10 per cent to 50 per cent in neuroblastoma treatment, a cancer that affects nerve cells and accounts for 15 per cent of child cancer deaths. 

However, the therapy is proven only to work for earlier stages of cancer. 

Associate Professor Orazio Vittorio from UNSW’s School of Biomedical Sciences has noted the copper-based drug will only inhibit tumour growth if patients have been diagnosed early.

“It is one of the most important therapies developed, but it only works if there is a strong immune system,” said Vittorio.  

 

Yet, Schadel remains positive. 

“We completed an animal experiment last year which went really well,” she said. “We are in the process of repeating that now with a larger group of mice to make sure that the data is corroborated in this new experiment.”

An earlier UNSW study using mice found that a therapy using a different copper chelating agent called Tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) reduces lung metastasis and can overcome a tumour’s resistance to medication.

Schadel, who was a part of the TEPA experiment, admitted current cancer treatments had not updated with the times. 

“I just wonder, how is cancer so incredibly prominent that still when it comes to treatment, we are using something that is essentially ancient at this point,” she said. 

“Triple negative is one of the most aggressive breast cancer types and is limited in terms of treatment because it’s only really chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

“Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are not targeted and have very toxic side effects on the patient and on top of that, we do see an increase in resistance with chemotherapy.”

A study conducted through the GI Cancer Institute revealed radiation therapy might not be necessary in some particular situations.

“One trial that just completed tested whether preoperative chemoradiotherapy with preoperative chemotherapy was better than just chemotherapy alone in patients with resectable gastric and oesophago-gastric junction adenocarcinoma,” said Cory. 

“We found out that the overall survival results were the same whether you received radiation therapy or not.” 

Although Brandes would not be considered for any clinical trials with copper chelation therapy due to her late stage cancer diagnosis, she is positive for the future of cancer research.

“It [cancer] will remain this way until my body becomes resistant to the treatment or, fingers crossed, a new drug will be developed,” she said.

“It would give me more time and that’s what we all want.”

Main image of the UNSW Medicine Building by Orlando Sagar