Advancing RNA-based therapy: a promising new treatment for liver cancer

The number of liver cancer cases increases faster than any other cancer.

By 2030, deaths from liver cancer are expected to rise by 85%, putting even more pressure on the public health system. 

While some early-stage liver cancers can be treated with surgery or a liver transplant, most people are diagnosed too late for these options. This means new treatments are urgently needed.

A Cancer Council NSW funded study led by Professor Peter Leedman from the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research has been testing a new type of treatment that could help stop liver cancer from growing and spreading.

Professor Leedman and his team have been working on a unique type of therapy called microRNA therapy, which targets cancer cells directly while leaving healthy cells unharmed.

Why is liver cancer so hard to treat?

Liver cancer is difficult to treat because it is often diagnosed late, leading to low survival rates.

The treatments available, such as chemotherapy, don’t always work well and can have severe side effects

Researchers have recently discovered that microRNAs – tiny molecules that can switch genes on and off – can stop cancer cells from growing preventing the spread of cancer to other parts of the body.

Targeting liver cancer with microRNA therapy

Professor Leedman and his team have developed a new treatment called mRx-7-GalNAc, which realeases the anti-cancer drug directly into the liver cancer without being circulated through the whole body.

Their key findings include:

• Successful drug delivery: The treatment mRx-7-GalNAc reached the liver quickly and accurately when tested in a laboratory model. This is important because it shows the treatment can be delivered directly to the cancer without harming healthy tissues and with less side effects than conventional therapies such as chemotherapy.
• Potential for better treatment: MicroRNA therapy could slow down tumour growth and improve survival rates for people with liver cancer.
• Challenges with tumour testing: The team is currently working on improving the model of liver cancer to test the new treatment.

What does this mean for liver cancer patients?

This research shows that microRNA-based therapy could be a powerful new way to treat liver cancer.

If successful, this treatment could:

• Give patients a new option when other treatments do not work.
• Reduce side effects by only targeting cancer cells, not healthy ones.
• Improve survival rates for liver cancer, which currently has one of the lowest survival rates of any cancer.

This study is also important because microRNA therapy might help treat other cancers, opening up new possibilities for cancer treatment in the future.

What’s next?

Professor Leedman and his team at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research are now planning to:

• Keep testing mRx-7-GalNAc in more advanced models to see if it can stop liver cancer when diagnosed in a later stage.
• Check for side effects to make sure the treatment is safe for humans.
• Work with other researchers and companies to prepare for clinical trials.

With more research, this new type of therapy could become a real treatment for liver cancer, giving people with this disease a better chance of survival.

Liver cancer is becoming more common, and new treatments like this one need more funding to move forward.

With your support, we can help researchers like Professor Leedman continue their work and bring better treatment options to people with liver cancer.

Professor Leedman’s research has been funded by a Cancer Council project grant awarded in 2021.    

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