Phase I Trial of the Combination of PS101-Mediated Acoustic Cluster Therapy (ACT) With Chemotherapy for Treatment of Liver Metastasis In Patients With Solid Tumours With an Expansion Cohort in Metastatic Colorectal And Pancreatic Cancer

The suboptimal delivery of an anticancer agent to the target cancer cells represent a significant problem in many solid tumours, as it compromises the effectiveness of established therapeutics. If the amount of drug that reached any tumour could be increased without changing the amount administered systemically, it should be possible to increase the effectiveness of the treatment without adding to systemic toxicity.

PS101-mediated ACT involves the use of an experimental drug and an experimental device in patients with colon/rectal cancer that has spread to the liver and is given in combination with standard of care chemotherapy. The experimental drug, called PS101, is a liquid containing a mixture of positively and negatively charged microbubbles and microdroplets. It is injected into a vein (blood vessel) and from there follows the blood flow around the body to where the cancerous tumours are found. PS101 is given at the same time as a special type of ultrasound (performed using an ultrasound device) at the place in the liver where the cancerous tumour is found. The combination of PS101 and ultrasound is called Acoustic Cluster Therapy (ACT).

PS101-mediated ACT can potentially increase the uptake of an anticancer agent over the ultrasound targeted area. The preclinical development of PS101-mediated ACT suggests that this therapy may be of meaningful benefit while significant additional toxicity is not anticipated.