New strategy for personalised cancer treatment to be presented at Innovation Space: the science behind a new kind of oncology

ST PETERSBURG, Russia: Cutting-edge oncological developments will be presented at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) Innovation Space in the form of a personalized strategy for treating cancer developed by the St. Petersburg Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences in collaboration with the Institute of Immunology and Physiology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences under the leadership of Academician Valery Chereshnev and Chief Researcher of the St. Petersburg Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergey Onikeenko.

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The strategy creates a personalized tumor profile using RNA sequencing to find key proteins driving cancer growth.
It uses virtual drug selection to block these proteins and tests combinations directly on patient tumor cells.
Proven effective in trials, it shifts cancer care from palliative to active management for long-term remission.

The new methodology employs a molecular analysis of a tumor with information technology and RNA sequencing to create a molecular portrait unique to each patient. The approach seeks to transform an aggressive tumor into a controlled chronic condition similar to diabetes or heart disease.

“We must study and destroy the signaling pathways and nodes within the tumor to achieve sustained remission and save the patient,” Valery Chereshnev said.

A key element of the strategy is the analysis of the complex network of interactions between tumor cells and other components that ensures the survival of malignant cells, otherwise known as the tumor interactome. The strategy identifies the most aggressive malignant proteins responsible for tumor growth and metastasis, after which molecular docking – a virtual selection of inhibitors capable of blocking these proteins – is performed. This personalized approach allows for the selection of an individual combination of drugs, subsequently tested on the patient’s tumor cells immunohistochemically.

An effective combination of drugs that successfully destroys the tumor’s signaling pathway is known as a silver bullet. The personalized therapy strategy has proven effective in clinical trials in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, small cell lung cancer, uterine sarcoma, and breast cancer.

The strategy shifts the focus in modern oncology from palliative control to active management of the disease, paving the way for long-term remission and a significant improvement in quality of life. Its developers believe that its application in clinical practice has the potential to change oncology as we know it and turn cancer from a death sentence into a manageable illness.

This article is republished from Roscongress

This event is timed to coincide with visit to the SPIEF, organised by the Roscongress Foundation