Delivery and control
Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors is currently one of the promising methods of treating breast, cervical, colon, stomach, skin and other cancers. However, an obstacle to achieving higher efficacy is that none of the existing delivery strategies can provide a stable concentration of drugs with the ability to adjust the dose to reduce systemic toxicity or enhance the therapeutic response.
Researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University have developed a fiber-optic device that can deliver targeted immunotherapeutic antibodies and measure the impedance (electrical resistance) of a tumor.
The optical fibers embedded in the electrodes are capable of both delivering and measuring tissue resistance within a few weeks. The use of a new implantable device delivering immune checkpoint inhibitors in combination with photodynamic therapy allowed researchers to achieve sustained antitumor immunity with complete tumor regression in several models. Histological analysis showed the accumulation of memory T cells in the tumor and lymph nodes of mice. To test whether immune memory is formed against tumors, the researchers injected the cured individuals with tumor cells and found that none of them had tumor re-growth.
Measurement of tumor impedance using the new device is performed quickly and allows real-time monitoring of tumor growth, which significantly exceeds conventional imaging methods using contrast agents. The impedance increases as the tumor grows, and vice versa, when the tumor size decreases against the background of antibody treatment, a decrease in impedance is recorded.
The new method of delivery of local and systemic antitumor therapy differs markedly from standard treatment, which uses only the method of systemic administration of antibodies. Bioelectric control of the effectiveness of treatment allows you to avoid unwanted activity of antibodies before they reach the tumor. This makes the device potentially useful for on-demand delivery of powerful immunotherapeutic agents without increasing toxicity.
Article by A.L.Chin et al. Implantable optical fibers for immunotherapeutics delivery and tumor impedance measurement published in the journal Nature Communications.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Virginia Tech: Researchers develop miniature optical fiber treatment device for more effective cancer immunotherapy.