New targeted therapy shows promise against aggressive childhood and adult cancers

Researchers at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine have developed a new targeted cancer therapy that can precisely seek out and destroy tumor cells—showing strong results in preclinical studies that bring the breakthrough closer to human clinical trials. The therapy targets a protein called IL1RAP, which is found on the surface of certain cancer cells, but is largely absent from normal tissues. By linking a cancer-killing drug to an antibody that recognizes this protein, the team created an antibody-drug conjugate that delivers treatment directly to cancer cells while sparing healthy tissues.