(Adnkronos) - Sarà presto disponibile in Italia la terapia di precisione basata sull’uso del Lutezio, il primo radioligando per i pazienti con tumore prostatico metastatico resistente alla castrazione, positivo al Psma, l’antigene di membrana specifico della prostata, non rispondente alle terapie già disponibili
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00:00It will soon be available in Italy the precision therapy based on the use of lutezio, the first
00:10radioligand for patients with metastatic prostatic tumor resistant to castration positive
00:15to PSMA, the specific membrane antigen of the prostate.
00:19Thanks to the approval and reimbursement by the CDA of the AIFA, the Italian agency
00:24of the drug, the innovative treatment will be available for patients with this type
00:29of neoplasia, not responding to therapies already available, is expected from the middle
00:33of March.
00:34The new target marks a significant evolution in the treatment of a complex oncological
00:39pathology such as the tumor to the prostate, expanding the available therapeutic options
00:44and improving survival.
00:46Moreover, prostatic carcinoma is the most common tumor among men in Western countries
00:52and in Italy it represents 29.9% of all male tumors, there are 485 thousand people
00:59who live with this oncological diagnosis and 40,192 new cases only in 2024.
01:06The metastatic form resistant to castration is the most advanced phase of the disease
01:11with an average survival of 5 years that does not exceed 30% and the PSMA receptor is present
01:18in more than 80% of patients with metastatic disease.
01:22But what does the therapy with radioligands consist of in simple words?
01:26We asked Professor Carmine Pinto, Director of Medical Oncology of the Comprehensive Cancer
01:32Center of the local health unit IRCS in Reggio Emilia.
01:36We are in a new and relevant phase in the treatment of tumors, we always try to have
01:43more treatments that identify a target and to have the drug or in the specific case
01:50of radiations that can directly hit that target and therefore hit the neoplastic cell.
01:56And in this case, how does the one that in nuclear medicine is defined as teragnostic come from?
02:01Where does it start?
02:02We have a carrier to which a radioisotope is linked, which through this carrier finds
02:08cellular alterations within the tumor cells and is used in the diagnostic phase
02:13as a tracer, where are these altered cells that capture this radioisotope and therefore
02:20become positive and this is the first phase.
02:23To this carrier, however, we can also link a radioisotope, this is the teragnostic,
02:28which can have a therapeutic function, so I can link to the carrier at this point
02:32a radioisotope with a therapeutic function and go and hit that single target within
02:38that cell and therefore have, in quotes, a targeted radiotherapy that then hits
02:44exactly where I want to hit.
02:46And what advantages are obtained with this therapeutic approach?
02:50That I can give a high dose of irritation, I try to reduce the side effects as much as possible,
02:56but above all I can go and evaluate over time if my PET turns off, if that treatment
03:02has been effective or not.
03:04This is called teragnostic and is the great future, in my opinion, of personalized nuclear medicine.
03:10And in practice, how will this approach change the management of the disease?
03:14Dr. Giuseppe Procompio, head of the Urinary Genital Medical Oncology at the IRCS Foundation,
03:21the National Institute for Tumors in Milan, explains it to us.
03:23Radioligand therapy sees the access and the powerful entry of the teragnostic in the carcinoma of the prostate.
03:31It means that we identify targets through a diagnostic, a sophisticated imaging
03:37and on these targets we are going to define a targeted and personalized treatment path
03:44that is based on the use of radioisotopes that act on membrane antigens
03:50that are expressed on the surface of the tumor cells of the prostate.
03:54But what benefits does this therapy give in particular?
03:57To use a different action mechanism, the advantage is to use a precision medicine.
04:03For the patient, the advantage is the anti-tumor effectiveness already demonstrated and validated in multiple clinical studies.
04:11In this regard, the results of the Phase III vision study are particularly significant.
04:17The vision study has shown that in a population that had received a previous androgenic deprivation,
04:24including also anti-androgens of a new generation,
04:28that had received a previous chemotherapy,
04:31the use of lutezium was able to slow down the progression of the disease,
04:37to improve the life expectancy, to improve the control of symptoms and the quality of life.
04:43So an impact on what are the most significant clinical objectives for the life of our patients.
04:49So the arrival of lutezium will be a sensitive step forward
04:53in the attempt to chronicize the advanced oncological disease.
04:58An innovation, the one we have talked about,
05:01which has its roots in the Made in Italy research carried out by VREA,
05:04actually at the forefront of the Novartis group,
05:07which has developed the first therapies with radiopharmaceuticals.
05:10And the Swiss multinational company,
05:12which has been committed for over 20 years to the development of innovative pharmaceuticals
05:15and new technological platforms,
05:18is very satisfied, as underlines Paola Cocco,
05:21Medical Affairs Head of Novartis,
05:23for the agreement signed with AIFA,
05:25which will allow patients and the National Health Service
05:28to have access to this important therapeutic novelty in a sustainable way.
05:33Today we are very, very proud of this result
05:37that we have obtained thanks to an incessant collaboration with regulatory authorities,
05:44which will finally be able to offer patients affected by prostatic carcinoma
05:51resistant to castration,
05:53a new therapeutic opportunity
05:55that will be able to extend the life expectancy,
05:59while maintaining and preserving a good quality of life as much as possible.