Lars Hvass is BRIDGE Fellow

Postdoc Lars Hvass has recently been named BRIDGE Fellow. The title of his project is “Pre-targeted Radioligand Therapy of Breast Cancer Brain Metastases”.

His basic mentor is Professor Matthias M. Herth, Professor Andreas Kjær from Department of Clinical Physiology & Nuclear Medicine, Rigshospitalet is clinical mentor and CEO Francesco Sergi-Lindell from PreTT ApS is life science mentor.

The BRIDGE – Translational Excellence Programme is a postdoctoral programme at UCPH funded by Novo Nordisk Foundation. Each year, BRIDGE offers selected PhDs a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in translational medicine. 

Project description:
Breast cancer that has spread to the brain presents a major challenge for treatment because the protective barrier around the brain, the blood-brain barrier, effectively prohibits drugs from reaching the tumors. For patients with HER2-positive breast cancer metastases, the risk of brain metastases is particularly high, affecting up to half of all cases. We are developing a two-step treatment approach to overcome this barrier.

First, we use a modified antibody that can both cross the blood-brain barrier and bind to cancer cells. Subsequently, a small radioactive molecule that specifically attaches to this antibody is used to deliver localized radiation therapy to the cancer cells. The same approach is used for diagnosis, which allows for selecting patients who will respond to treatment, prior to treatment. If successful, this strategy could provide a new option for treating brain metastases of breast cancer, potentially extending and improving the lives of patients.