A new approach to fighting drug resistance in liver cancer

Background

Liver cancer incidence is increasing in Australia and has a high mortality rate. It is one of the top 10 causes of cancer death. Unfortunately liver cancer frequently recurs and spreads. Also, patients quickly develop resistance to the only drug available to treat advanced forms of the disease, sorafenib.  The benefit from sorafenib only lasts on average just 12 weeks.

The research

Cells known as stem cells that exist within a liver cancer are known to play a key role in the progression of liver cancer and the development of resistance to drugs. But attempts to target and kill these stem cells have been disappointing.

This project focuses on using aptamer molecules, also known as chemical antibodies, to target liver cancer stem cells. Prof George and his team have generated aptamers against two important surface markers that identify liver cancer stem cells. They have also shown these aptamers can be combined with a widely used anticancer drug to form a ‘therapeutic complex’.

In proof-of-concept studies, they have shown that these therapeutic complexes can enter and kill liver cancer stem cells in laboratory studies, and that the effects on mice do not seem toxic. The next step is to test the approach further in relevant animal models.