Project Summary
Current treatment options for advanced cervical cancer are limited, with a 5-year overall survival rate
of 17%. In the USA, pervasive disparities remain in access to treatment and mortality, disproportionately
affecting African American and Latino populations. Innovative therapeutic approaches for metastatic
disease that can increase access to care and reduce disparities are greatly needed. To meet this need,
in this project, Nanocan Therapeutics Corporation in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, will
develop innovative technology that can extend the use of local radiotherapy (RT) from palliation to distant
control of metastatic cervical cancer with substantially reduced treatment time and cost, facilitating
access to care and reducing disparities. The new technology, which Nanocan has licensed from Brigham
and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School is a Liquid Immunotherapeutic Fiducial Eluter (LIFE)
gel that can be easily administered locally and works in conjunction with hypo-fractionated radiotherapy
for treatment of patients with advanced cervical cancer. Preliminary studies show that the use of the
biocompatible/biodegradable LIFE gel technology can cause regression of both treated (local) and distant
untreated/metastatic tumors and enable development of immunologic memory controlling disease for a
long time. This Phase 1 STTR project focuses on optimizing efficacy and safety when employing the LIFE
gel with HFRT in metastatic cervical cancer models setting. The results will set the stage for the first
clinical trial. Innovative advantages of the LIFE gel include major potential to overcome
immunosuppression due to sustained delivery, minimal systemic/overlapping toxicities, simple short
treatment regimen, and providing imaging contrast for precision RT. The highest clinical impact of the
LIFE gel technology approach is anticipated in significantly improved survival of advanced cervical cancer
patients. Preliminary studies also show that this can provide a substantially cheaper alternative to
systemic treatment and replace the intensive regimens over months to a short intervention, which will
create significant opportunities for better global access to cancer care, and reduce cancer disparities.