Near-Infrared Photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) in Urologic Cancers

Abstract

Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) is a novel molecularly-targeted therapy that selectively kills cancer cells by systemically injecting an antibody-photoabsorber conjugate (APC) that binds to cancer cells, followed by the application of NIR light that drives photochemical transformations of the APC. APCs are synthesized by selecting a monoclonal antibody that binds to a receptor on a cancer cell and conjugating it to IRDye700DX silica-phthalocyanine dye. Approximately 24 h after APC administration, NIR light is delivered to the tumor, resulting in nearly-immediate necrotic cell death of cancer cells while causing no harm to normal tissues. In addition, NIR-PIT induces a strong immunologic effect, activating anti-cancer immunity that can be further boosted when combined with either immune checkpoint inhibitors or immune suppressive cell-targeted (e.g., regulatory T cells) NIR-PIT. Currently, a global phase III study of NIR-PIT in recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is ongoing. The first APC and NIR laser systems were approved for clinical use in September 2020 in Japan. In the near future, the clinical applications of NIR-PIT will expand to other cancers, including urologic cancers. In this review, we provide an overview of NIR-PIT and its possible applications in urologic cancers.

Impact of sarcopenia in bladder preservation therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients: a narrative review

“…This suggests that more sarcopenic patients with cancer cachexia might seek bladder preservation therapy. Given that chemotherapy is toxic in sarcopenic patients ( 19 ), other immunogenic therapy such as near-infrared photoimmunotherapy rather than chemoradiotherapy may be suitable for sarcopenic patients in combination with ICIs ( 47 , 48 ). Because sarcopenia was associated with poorer therapeutic efficacy of ICIs ( 24 ), further evaluation is necessary to determine the significance of sarcopenia in the management of bladder preservation therapy in the ICI era.…”

Research progress in inducing immunogenic cell death of tumor cells

“…The process of NIR light irradiation is only highly lethal to the target cells when combined with the PS and does not cause harm to normal cells, which significantly reduces the probability of side effects and improves the efficacy of tumor treatment ( 208 , 209 ). This treatment method is currently used for urological ( 210 ), gastric ( 211 ), and head and neck cancers ( 212 ).…”

Phototruncation cell tracking with near-infrared photoimmunotherapy using heptamethine cyanine dye to visualise migratory dynamics of immune cells

“…Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) is a newly developed anti-cancer therapy that selectively kills cancer cells by NIR light-induced photochemical reaction of an antibody-photoabsorber conjugate (AbPC) attached to the cancer cell surface. 19 , 20 , 21 AbPCs are composed of a photoabsorber IRDye700DX (IR700), a silica-phthalocyanine dye, conjugated to a monoclonal antibody that specifically targets a cancer-associated antigen located on the cell surface. After intravenous infusion, AbPCs bind to cancer cells, whereupon NIR light is delivered to the tumour site.…”