Identifying Bladder Cancer Patients Who Could Benefit from Tumor-Softening Treatment

British scientists have identified a protein that could help clinicians choose which bladder cancer patients could be better treated from a therapy that makes radiotherapy more effective, according to recent research.

The study’s findings were published online June 17, 2014, in the British Journal of Cancer (BJC). The University of Manchester (UK) investigators, funded by the Medical Research Council (London, UK), discovered that patients whose bladder tumor had high levels of a protein, called hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, were more apt to benefit from having carbogen and nicotinamide tablets at the same time as their radiotherapy. The treatment, called CON (carbogen and nicotinamide), makes radiotherapy more effective.

By comparing levels of HIF-1α in tissue samples from 137 patients who had radiotherapy on its own or with CON, the researchers discovered the protein predicted which patients benefited from having CON. High levels of the protein were associated with better survival from the disease when patients had radiotherapy and CON. Patients with low protein levels did not benefit from having CON with their radiotherapy.

The HIF-1α protein indicates low oxygen levels in tumor cells—a state known as hypoxia. The CON treatment works by adding oxygen to the oxygen-deprived tumor cells, which makes them more sensitive to the radiotherapy.

Prof. Catharine West, a Cancer Research UK scientist at the University of Manchester, and a study author, said, “Although we have another biomarker that can predict responsiveness to CON and radiotherapy in bladder cancer patients, our findings tell us a bit more about the characteristics of bladder cancer tumors and how they may respond to this treatment. But we desperately need to do more work to find ways to treat those patients who won’t see as much benefit from this. And it’s exactly this type of vital research that we and other scientists will be doing at the Manchester Cancer Research Center—bringing together a wide range of expertise to revolutionize cancer treatment.”

Nell Barrie, senior science communications manager at Cancer Research UK, said, “This fascinating new finding could help doctors adapt their treatments to patients with bladder cancer as well as shedding more light on the disease. “Deaths from bladder cancer are falling in the UK, but more work needs to be done so that this trend continues. More research is needed to helps us find new and better ways to fight bladder cancer.”

Related Links:
University of Manchester
Medical Research Council