© РИА Томск. Павел Стефанский
TOMSK, Sep 23 – RIA Tomsk, Vyacheslav Matvievsky. A radiopharmaceutical for the diagnosis of breast cancer developed by scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) passed the first stage of clinical trials; scientists also plan to investigate the drug's ability to diagnose tumors in other organs - this could take several more years, the university's press service said.
Earlier it was reported that TPU scientists have developed a unique radiopharmaceutical for the diagnosis of breast cancer, which is based on the technology of production of aluminum nanoparticles, into which short-lived technetium isotopes are embedded, capable of becoming a kind of "markers" for cells affected by cancer. In 2017, the drug underwent preclinical studies. Patient trials were slated to begin in 2018.
"The data of the first stage of clinical trials of a new radiopharmaceutical for the diagnosis of an aggressive type of breast cancer (which) took place over the past year at the Cancer Research Institute of the Tomsk National Research Medical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (TNRMC). 29 patients took part in it, the drug proved to be successful", - the report said.
© с сайта ТПУ
It is noted that at the first stage of clinical trials, the patients were divided into three groups according to the dosage of the drug. They were injected intravenously with three different dosages - 250, 500 and 1000 micrograms - even the maximum dosage of the drug used in the study is an order of magnitude lower than in standard diagnostic drugs used to diagnose other types of cancer.
According to the press service with reference to Olga Bragina, a researcher at the TPU Research Center "Onkoteranostika" ("Oncotheranostics"), the research results have shown that using the drug can simultaneously visualize metastases not only in the mammary gland, but also in the liver, if they are present. In one of the patients, metastases were also detected in the thoracic vertebrae and rib.
"This was the first phase of the study ... (The capabilities of the drug) are planned to be expanded and used for imaging in other organs. Further stages of research may take several years. Then the drug has to go through a long certification stage so that it becomes available to patients at other clinics", - the head of the Department of Radionuclide Diagnostics of the Cancer Research Institute of the Tomsk National Research Medical Center Vladimir Chernov is quoted.