Genitourinary
Synthetic Antibodies
Building new tools to fight prostate cancer
The Research Institute’s Genitourinary pillar supports clinical studies and basic (laboratory) science related to kidney, bladder, and prostate cancer. This includes surgical techniques such as robotics, clinical trials for cancer medicines, and laboratory studies that look at cancer on the cellular level.
An estimated 24,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year. When caught early, nearly all patients will survive at least five years after their diagnosis. But if prostate cancer is diagnosed late, the five-year survival rate drops to just 30 percent.
Scientists are working tirelessly to develop new therapeutics that are more effective for late-stage prostate cancer by using state-of-the-art technologies. One such technology involves the production of synthetic antibodies.
Did you know?
Synthetic antibodies are being developed for use in research, diagnostics, and therapeutic applications.
Dr. Bobby Shayegan
Antibodies are capable of binding to a specific target. Once bound together, they act as a signal for the body’s immune system to attack. Their specificity is what has piqued the interest of scientists looking to target cancer cells while leaving normal cells untouched.
In 2023, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) announced that it had awarded a $300,000 grant to a team of prostate cancer researchers at St. Joe’s led by Dr. Bobby Shayegan and Dr. Richard Austin. The team is working to develop a new drug based on a synthetic antibody that could potentially target prostate cancer cells.
The synthetic antibody created by St. Joe’s researchers targets a protein called GRP78, which is found in abundance on the surface of malignant tumour cells but not on normal cells. Typically, GRP78 resides inside the cell where it helps transport other proteins. In prostate cancer cells, it migrates to the cell surface (becoming csGRP78), allowing the synthetic antibodies to bind to it.
The team has had promising results shrinking tumours in mice models. They are now taking the next steps towards advancing this synthetic antibody treatment as a first-in-class therapeutic. In addition, targeting csGRP78 using synthetic antibodies may have other clinical applications, such as prostate cancer imaging, which could improve diagnosis.
“Once prostate cancer spreads, it becomes much more difficult to treat,” says Dr. Austin. “But we have found an exciting new way to attack prostate cancer cells that could provide new hope to countless men.”
Dr. Richard Austin
The OICR is a collaborative, not-for-profit research institute funded by the Government of Ontario. OICR conducts and enables high-impact translational cancer research to accelerate the development of discoveries for patients around the world. The Research Institute is grateful to be a beneficiary of the OICR Cancer Therapeutics Innovation Pipeline (CTIP) initiative.