Radiation Therapy (Brain Cancer)

Over 10 million cancer patients throughout the world receive radiation therapy (RT) each year alone or in combination with chemotherapy. The amount of radiation that can be used and the effectiveness of radiation therapy to eradicate tumors, however, are limited because of radiation damage to normal tissues. This is especially problematic with brain tumors in children and adults where RT damages neurons and neural stem cells resulting in memory loss and cognitive dysfunction.

In adults with primary brain tumors or secondary brain metastasis, RT shrinks tumors, but causes memory loss within months of treatment and early dementia in survivors. In children with brain cancer, 5-year survival is over 70%. However, up to 90% of surviving children that received RT for brain cancer while they were under the age of 7 exhibit mental or learning impairments that can last the rest of their lives.

The TP508 Solution. Our novel peptide drug product, TP508, reduces RT-induced neural inflammation and restores neural stem cells in the hippocampus of the brain. These neural stem cells are required for production and maintenance of new neurons and restoration of neural connectivity and neural/cognitive function following radiation exposure. Therefore, TP508 may be a true outcome-changing drug that when used in combination with RT mitigates radiation-induced brain damage and prevents mental impairment and loss of cognitive function.