AURORA, Colo. (June 18, 2024) — Cancer and stem cell
biology researchers at the University of Colorado are launching the
nation's first program focused on identifying and testing drugs
that target and destroy cells thought to be at the root of
cancer—cancer stem cells (CSCs).
The Cancer Stem Cell-Directed Clinical Trials Program (CCTP) is
a collaboration between the University of Colorado Cancer Center
and the Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem
Cell Biology, both located at the University of Colorado School of
Medicine.
"Through the CCTP, we believe we can change the way most cancers
are treated by targeting tumor-initiating cells as opposed to
conventional therapies that address the bulk of the tumor," said
Antonio Jimeno, MD, PhD, program director and head and neck cancer
specialist."We hope that by targeting the cancer stem cells, we can
bring solid tumor cure rates in line with those for some blood
cancers—upwards of 75 percent, although our ultimate goal is
100 percent."
Jimeno will direct the new program with senior co-directors
Dennis Roop, PhD, Gates Stem Cell Center director and professor of
dermatology at the medical school, and S. Gail Eckhardt, MD, UCCC
deputy director, head of medical oncology at the medical school and
leader of UCCC's renowned early-phase cancer clinical trials
program.
Although CSCs may make up less than 0.1% of the tumor, they have
a big effect. They're the ones that accumulate DNA damage from sun
exposure, tobacco use and other carcinogens, Roop said. Many cancer
scientists believe CSCs initiate and maintain cancers, just as
normal stem cells maintain normal tissues.
CSCs are different than the cells that make up a tumor's bulk.
They are generally impervious to chemotherapy and radiation, and
perhaps even new "targeted" therapies. And, because CSCs can
weather the storm of traditional cancer treatment, many cancer
scientists believe they are primarily responsible for cancer
recurrence.
"We've already had success in early clinical trials with some
drugs that happen to be cancer stem cell-targeting drugs," Jimeno
said. "I have patients who are essentially in remission after a
year with few side effects."
New treatments the program identifies will likely be complex
because they will combine conventional therapies and CSC-targeted
drugs. That complexity will require new tools for assessing tumors
and blood samples, as well as scaled-down genetic tests that are
analyzed by modern bioinformatics tools—none of which are
available for clinical trials at most centers.
"I hope that in the near future, we can take a tiny sample of a
patient's tumor, do a quick test to see which stem cell targets are
active, and quickly come up with a cocktail of drugs that will kill
the root of the tumor with fewer side effects to the patient,"
Jimeno said. "We think this process will truly address the
complexities of cancer."
The CCTP, which includes experts in basic cancer research,
imaging and bioinformatics, will also design these tests and
tools.
"We have the incredible talent and infrastructure in place to
build a program around an entirely new way of treating cancer,"
Roop said. "We have all the required scientific and clinical
investigators and extraordinary new technologies in place to do the
basic science research and move new treatments quickly to
patients."
The program will concentrate on running clinical trials of
anti-CSC drugs, and assessing the impact on CSCs—one of the
hottest areas in development, Jimeno said.
"Many pharmaceutical companies are developing anti-CSC drugs
right now," he said, "and our program is a platform that will offer
possibilities they may not yet be aware exist for clinical
applications. We have the patients, tools and infrastructure that
no other center in the United States has."
Roop said that creating a hub of cancer stem cell research in
Colorado will bring big economic dividends to the state, just as
the Gates Stem Cell Center has. Since 2007, that center has grown
to 62 full-time employees and received $29 million in research
funding with an additional $20 million pending—a rate of
about 20 percent annual growth in terms of research dollars,
faculty members and staff.
"Just by building this program, we will be able to attract top
talent to our campus, and they will bring their millions of
research dollars and new high-paying jobs with them," he said.
"This will also have an immediate impact on the University of
Colorado Hospital, where patients are treated, as we bring new
anti-CSC drugs into testing. But the best news is that through
doing this, we believe we will find treatments that kill the cancer
without almost killing the patient."
What's different about the CCTP:
- A clinical trials program focused on developing tools for
quickly understanding the impact of candidate anti-cancer stem cell
drugs and incorporating them into a clinical setting.
- A collaboration between a National Cancer Institute-designated
comprehensive cancer center and a well-funded stem cell center,
both of which have rich scientific and technological infrastructure
in place to take this new approach to clinical trials.
- An integrated, multidisciplinary faculty roster that includes
clinical and research experts from medical oncology, surgery,
radiation oncology, dermatology, cancer biology and bioinformatics,
among others. This team composition will prove to be the fastest
route to bring successful treatments to patients.
- Dedicated to collaboration over competition, UCCC and the Gates
Stem Cell Center are known for forging successful partnerships with
others regardless of what school, program or particular medical
area they may work in.
- Pairs of advanced animal models of three major cancer
types—melanoma, squamous skin cancer and head and neck
cancer—developed by teams of Colorado scientists and other
advanced technologies will give scientists and doctors cutting-edge
tools to rapidly understand how new drugs selectively target CSCs
for destruction.
SOURCE