A recent paper by Liu et al. (Cancer Genetics, 2024), titled “Elucidating the Prognostic and Therapeutic Significance of TOP2A in Various Malignancies,” reinforces the central role of TOP2A (DNA topoisomerase IIα) as a key oncogenic driver across a wide range of cancers including liver, prostate, colon, lung, and breast cancer. The authors show that TOP2A overexpression correlates strongly with tumour aggressiveness, metastasis, and resistance to therapy, while also predicting response to anthracycline-based regimens that target this enzyme.

At OncoTherics, our lead compound OCT1002 is designed to exploit this same vulnerability, but with next-generation precision. As a unidirectional Hypoxia-Activated Prodrug (uHAP), OCT1002 releases a potent TOP2A poison only within the hypoxic regions of solid tumours, where conventional TOP2A inhibitors fail due to poor oxygenation and drug resistance. By selectively activating under these harsh microenvironmental conditions, OCT1002 aligns directly with the biological insights of Liu et al., offering a route to transform a universal cancer dependency into a tumour-selective therapeutic opportunity with potentially greater efficacy and fewer systemic side effects.