New-generation drug to fight skin cancer developed at Lobachevsky University

Nizhny Novgorod scientists' latest development increases tenfold the effectiveness of drugs used in  photodynamic therapy of cancer. Studies on mice and human cancer cells have proved the potential of using the antitumour agent in the fight against squamous-cell skin carcinoma. The drug may also be effective in the therapy of head and neck cancer.

“In classical photodynamic therapy (PDT), photosensitizers are activated by light and generate oxidant molecules that attack tumour cells. This is often not enough to completely destroy tumours. Our development combines the activity of a chlorophyll A-based photosensitizer with the precision action of vandetanib, a target therapy drug. The results have been quite promising. We were able to increase the efficiency of PDT by dozens of times”, said Lubov Krylova, one of the authors of the study, a researcher at the Department of Biophysics of the UNN Institute of Biology and Biomedicine.

Two parts of the molecular complex complement each other in the fight against cancer cells: vandetanib delivers the drug directly to the tumour and blocks the activity of cancer cells. The photosensitizer produces oxidants and kills the tumour.

“Our anti-tumour agent has a number of advantages. The strong binding keeps the active substances in the tumour until the drug's work is completed, and the indium metal added to the photosensitizer doubles the number of oxidants, which significantly accelerates the death of tumour cells,” explained study author Vasily Otvagin, associate professor at the Department of Organic Chemistry of the UNN Faculty of Chemistry.

According to the researchers, the compound is safe and effective in aqueous solutions, which will make it possible to use it intravenously. The scientists continue experiments to assess the therapeutic efficacy of the compound.

The project was implemented by researchers from Lobachevsky University’s Department of Organic Chemistry and Department of Biophysics with the participation of colleagues from Uppsala University (Sweden) and Ivanovo State University. The research was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation. The results were published in the leading international Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.