On the TRAIL of a new prostate cancer treatment

Grant information

Reference - RIA15-ST2-014
Researcher - Dr Ralf Zwacka
Institution - University of Essex
Duration - 2016-2024
Award - £255,817

Why did we fund this project?

• Researchers have previously shown a specific protein called TRAIL is able to kill cancer cells, whilst leaving normal cells unharmed.

• This makes TRAIL an exciting potential new treatment for prostate cancer.

• However, until now, when TRAIL-based drugs have been tested in clinical trials, they haven't worked.

• Researchers think this is because TRAIL is broken down rapidly in the blood, before it can reach the cancer.

• In this project, Dr Ralf Zwacka and team aimed to overcome this problem by delivering TRAIL directly to prostate cancer cells.

• This could lead to a new effective treatment for men, including those whose cancer has spread.

What did the team do?

• The team’s new approach involves delivering the anti-cancer TRAIL by hiding it inside a ‘Trojan Horse’ – in the form of a type of cell called an MSC.
• MSCs protect the TRAIL from being broken down in the blood, and are then able to infiltrate deep into cancers, including places the cancer has spread to (metastases).
• Once inside the cancer, the MSCs then deliver the TRAIL, which kills the cancer cells.

• In this project, the team tested their new approach on prostate cancer cells grown in the lab, as well as on mouse models of prostate cancer.

• They aimed to refine their treatment, work out which other prostate cancer treatments it should be combined with, and build the evidence that this treatment will work in men.

What did the team achieve?

• They developed and refined their ‘Trojan Horse’ system for delivering TRAIL.

• They found that on its own, their treatment could slow the growth of prostate cancer in mouse models, without causing significant side effects.

• Importantly, their treatment worked even better when combined with other prostate cancer drugs in development; in particular, a type of drug called an ‘IAP inhibitor’.

What does this mean for men?

• The team have shown that their new approach for delivering TRAIL could be an effective prostate cancer treatment, and works even better when combined with other drugs.
• A similar ‘Trojan Horse’ strategy to deliver TRAIL is being tested in clinical trials for lung cancer.
• The team hope to continue to build evidence towards testing this treatment in a clinical trial in men in the next 3 years.
• This could lead to a brand new treatment option for men.

What impact has our funding had?

• We use a simple six-stage framework to track how research moves from early discovery to real-world use - from early ideas to tests and treatments that can benefit men. 

• This grant begun at the middle of stage C, as the team had to develop and refine their TRAIL treatment before they could begin testing it. 

• Following our funding, this grant has moved to mid-stage D. They've begun testing their TRAIL treatment and have shown some positive results, but there's still some testing to do before they can move onto clinical trials.