Yonsei's research team and CKP Therapeutics propose new treatment applied to refractory liver cancer

Bio Times - 2022.09.01

A research team in Korea has presented a new treatment strategy using SERCA inhibitors for the first time in the world for intractable liver cancer that does not respond to existing treatments.

CKP Therapeutics (CEO Kim Chan-woong, Lee Jae-ha) is an international journal leading basic cancer research on a new treatment developed by applying two SERCA inhibitors, Sarcoplasmic/Endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase, through a joint research team with Professor Ki-Chung Park's team at the Department of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine. It was published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IF 6.208).

SERCA is a P-type ATPase of the calcium ATPase type, and its main function is to transport calcium ions from the cytoplasm to the endoplasmic reticulum.

Liver cancer is the seventh most common cancer in Korea, and the 5-year survival rate is only 37.7%, which is half of the overall survival rate (70.7%). Liver cancer, in particular, is the number one cause of cancer death among people in their 40s and 50s who are actively engaged in economic activities. Liver cancer is often accompanied by liver cirrhosis and liver function decline, making it difficult to apply standard treatments such as surgery and chemotherapy.

According to the research team's explanation, when anticancer drugs are administered to normal cancer cells, excessive stress is induced and leads to death. This is because calcium ions excessively secreted from the endoplasmic reticulum accumulate in the mitochondria in response to stress, leading to apoptosis. However, cancer stem cells of liver cancer, which appear in intractable liver cancer, survive by controlling calcium ion concentration by reducing excessive calcium ion secretion when anticancer drugs are administered and increasing the number of protein SERCA that can return excessively secreted calcium ions back to the endoplasmic reticulum. appeared to do

In this study, a new strategy for treating intractable liver cancer was proposed using two new SERCA inhibitors, and the patents for the two substances are currently in CKP therapeutics.

Professor Park Ki-cheong of Yonsei University College of Medicine said, "Through this study, it was confirmed that killing liver cancer stem cells using SERCA inhibition can be presented as a new treatment strategy in other cancer types that are resistant to existing treatments." This study is expected to be an effective treatment for incurable cancers such as liver cancer and other solid cancers.”

◇Development of new materials that directly target cancer stem cells using SERCA inhibition

Meanwhile, CKP Therapeutics is a bio venture that researches and develops new substances for the development of new drugs for incurable cancer in order to practice the vision of “extending life expectancy and improving the quality of life of patients with incurable cancer.”

CKP Therapeutics was established in Boston, USA in October 2019 as a biomechanical based on research achievements, technological prowess, and clinical experience accumulated for more than 10 years in the treatment of incurable cancer. The company has a PDC/PDX model platform that tests anticancer effects by transplanting (PDX) cancer cells (PDC) received directly from incurable cancer patients into animals, and a CKP Drug Discovery platform that finds new drug candidates.

The two new substances published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IF 6.208) are also new drug candidates for incurable cancer that were researched and developed from the PDC/PDX model platform and the CKP Drug Discovery platform.

CEO Lee Jae-ha said, “Incurable cancer is a condition where cancer recurs or metastasizes to patients who have been treated with current standard anti-cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted anti-cancer drugs, and immuno-anticancer drugs, and the treatment is no longer effective due to anti-cancer drug resistance. “The most important cause of incurable cancer is cancer stem cells, which make up a very small portion (0.01-2%) of cancer patients’ tumors, and standard anticancer treatment is used to treat tumors. Even if it is completely removed, cancer stem cells survive and form tumors again, so cancer patients eventually die.”

“Previously, research has been conducted on substances that indirectly treat patients with incurable cancer by weakening the function of cancer stem cells by being involved in the signal system of cancer stem cells, but CKP therapeutics are new substances that directly target cancer stem cells. is developing If cancer stem cells are removed through this new material, the tumors of incurable cancer patients will no longer recur or metastasize. I am sure of that,” he added.

Source: Bio Times (http://www.biotimes.co.kr)