
Israeli scientists have developed a unique ointment that effectively eliminates a common side effect of targeted cancer therapy – skin toxicity. This remedy will help improve the quality of life for patients undergoing treatment without reducing the dosage or effectiveness of the anticancer therapy. The research findings have already been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Targeted therapy is widely used in the fight against various types of cancer. This treatment suppresses the growth of cancer cells and promotes disease regression by blocking the receptor responsible for a specific type of cancer in a particular patient. However, since the same receptor that is more expressed in tumors is also present in healthy skin cells, skin toxicity is a well-known and challenging side effect of targeted cancer treatment.
In the case of certain tumors such as colorectal cancer, head and neck tumors, and others, the treatment protocol focuses on blocking the specific EGFR pathway receptor. This pathway is crucial for the functioning and growth of cancer cells but is also known to be important for maintaining skin health. As a result, approximately 90% of patients develop skin toxicity through this pathway during targeted therapy, manifesting as rashes on the face. These rashes can be severe, causing discomfort and potentially impacting patients’ mental well-being and their willingness to continue treatment.
Currently, there is no effective treatment for these severe rashes. In a new study led by Professor Ofer Bany from the School of Pharmacy at the Hebrew University and Dr. Sharon Merims from Hadassah Medical Center and Hadassah Cancer Research Institute in Jerusalem, scientists and physicians have found a way to help patients and prevent the occurrence of rashes.
During the research, scientists developed a new topical preparation in the form of an ointment that can be applied to the skin. Its active ingredient can block the binding of the anticancer drug to the EGFR receptor, thereby preventing damage to healthy skin cells. At the same time, it does not affect the effectiveness of the anticancer therapy. According to Professor Bany, “The result is that on the one hand, cancer treatment can continue, and on the other hand, the harmful effects of the anticancer drug on the skin and the resulting rashes can be prevented, allowing patients to improve their quality of life while undergoing cancer treatment.”
Dr. Merims explains, “Skin toxicity, manifested as rashes on the face, is intolerable for those who suffer from it and brings significant psychological difficulties compared to the consequences of internal organ toxicity, which are not visible externally.” According to Dr. Merims, the current treatments aimed at preventing or reducing toxicity and rashes are ineffective, and the method of alleviating patients’ condition usually involves reducing the dosage of targeted therapy drugs. In some cases, treatment interruptions may be necessary for the skin to heal and the rashes to disappear. However, these actions, even if necessary, can jeopardize the effectiveness of tumor treatment, which is of paramount importance.
Another challenge that researchers had to face was the fact that the skin is one of the least permeable organs in the human body. This poses a significant problem for the penetration of drugs from the upper layers of the skin to its deeper layers. Therefore, scientists relied on a previous study that developed a unique nanoparticle-based delivery system, which focuses on delivering the drug to hair follicles located in the deeper layers of the skin where most of the damage occurs. Treating the skin with the new ointment allows patients to continue their targeted anticancer therapy while neutralizing the treatment’s impact on the skin, preventing skin toxicity, and the development of rashes.