IMPROVING RADIOIODINE TREATMENT OF THYROID AND OTHER TUMOURS

甲状腺癌的一个主要治疗选择，也是乳腺癌和前列腺癌的一个潜在治疗策略，是放射性碘，它集中在细胞中，然后杀死癌细胞。这样做的一个问题是，帮助细胞吸收放射性碘的蛋白质NIS在癌细胞中并不像在正常细胞中那样活跃。这意味着治疗并不像它可能的那样有效。我们的目标是改变这一点。我们发现，一种名为PBF的蛋白质极大地降低了NIS的功能。因此，我们想探索如何克服这种影响，特别是因为甲状腺癌具有高水平的PBF，而乳腺癌和前列腺癌可以被改造成表达NIS的功能水平。如果我们能阻止PBF降低NIS活性，我们可能会恢复放射性碘的摄取。这将直接改善治疗和结果，特别是对于目前非常难以治疗的患者，以及患有甲状腺癌存活5年的机会不到50%的患者。此外，鉴于PBF在其他癌症中高表达，改变PBF影响NIS的方式将在乳腺癌和前列腺癌的治疗中具有进一步的潜力。

A main treatment option for thyroid cancer, and a potential therapeutic strategy in breast and prostate cancer, is radioactive iodide, which is concentrated in the cell, and then kills cancer cells. One problem with this is that the protein NIS which helps cells take up the radioactive iodide is not as active in cancer cells as it is in normal cells. This means that the treatment is not as effective as it could be. We are aiming to change this. We have discovered that a protein called PBF drastically reduces the ability of NIS to function. We therefore want to explore how we can overcome this effect, particularly because thyroid cancers have high levels of PBF, and breast and prostate cancers can be engineered to express functional levels of NIS. If we can prevent PBF from reducing NIS activity, we may restore radioactive iodide uptake. This should directly improve therapy and outcome, particularly for the subset of patients who are currently very difficult to treat, and who have less than a 50% chance of surviving 5 years with thyroid cancer. Also, given that PBF is highly expressed in other cancers, changing the way that PBF affects NIS would have further potential in the treatment of breast and prostate cancers.