RK-33 (therapy for breast cancer with bone metastases)

2024: Technology Announcement

In mid-October 2024, promising results of a study of a new drug RK-33 for the treatment of breast cancer with bone metastases, previously considered almost incurable, were published. It has previously been shown that RK-33 also helps in the treatment of other cancers and viral diseases.

The new drug acts directly on the DDX3 protein, the content of which is increased in tumor cells. DDX3 is an RNA helicase, that is, a protein that is involved in the transfer of genetic information from RNA to proteins. DDX3 promotes tumor cell growth and metastasis. Research led by Dr. Venu Raman's team at Johns Hopkins Hospital shows that RK-33 inhibits DDX3 function by slowing cancer progression and inhibiting cancer cell growth and proliferation.

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The researchers determined that bone metastases of breast cancer are high in DDX3 and began experiments in mice. Imaging studies have confirmed that RK-33 leads to complete disappearance of bone metastases, and also prevents the spread of tumor cells to other organs, which is characteristic of bone lesions. These results suggest that RK-33 allows targeted destruction of breast cancer metastases by successfully penetrating the microenvironment of bone tissue, which is often unavailable for other treatments.

In addition, RK-33 prevented the development of bone metastases to breast cancer. In experimental mice with non-metastatic tumors, bone metastases did not appear with the drug. The researchers also revealed no significant adverse reactions to RK-33. The researchers plan to continue studying the drug in other conditions, taking into account the role of DDX3 in pathogenesis, and hope to move on to clinical studies involving humans soon.^[1]

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