Resumen
The goal of this work was to improve the tumor selectivity of chemotherapy to reduce side effects and improve efficacy. We designed a drug called VIP236 that delivers chemotherapy directly to tumors due to a specialized ?homing feature? that binds to avß3 integrins. Solid tumors express high levels of avß3 integrins. In contrast, expression of avß3 is low in healthy tissues. This difference in expression levels leads to preferential homing of the chemotherapy to tumor cells over healthy tissue to reduce side effects. In human cancer models conducted in mice, VIP236 was shown to substantially accumulate in tumors compared with normal tissue. The high accumulation of VIP236 in the tumors resulted in high and long-lasting tumor regression and reduced metastasis formation in brain and lung in cancer models.