Microgrid with medicines
Researchers from the Italian Institute of Technology in collaboration with Stanford University and San Raffaele Hospital have demonstrated in preclinical studies the effectiveness of a new biomedical implant for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme.
Brain tumors are among the rare, but aggressive and difficult to treat oncological diseases. In particular, glioblastoma multiforme is a tumor with the most unfavorable prognosis: the average survival rate is just over 12 months after diagnosis, only 5% of patients live more than 5 years. Glioblastoma multiforme usually affects men and women aged 45 to 75 years. Unlike other malignant neoplasms, there have been no significant improvements in the diagnosis and therapy of this tumor over the past 30 years, therefore, the number of new cases of the disease and the number of deaths have practically not changed. The only treatment strategy currently used is based on surgical removal of part of the tumor mass to reduce intracranial pressure, followed by radiation and/or chemotherapy. The poor prognosis of glioblastoma is facilitated by the fact that potentially effective antitumor drugs do not penetrate the blood-brain barrier and do not reach target cells.
A biodegradable mesh of poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid applied to a layer of water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol can be loaded with cytostatic and/or anti-inflammatory medication. When placed in the cavity formed after surgical removal of glioblastoma, the polyvinyl layer dissolves, and the flexible polymer mesh takes the form of an occupied niche and continuously releases active substances that affect the remaining cancer cells in the brain.
The new biomedical implant has been tested in preclinical studies. A single implantation of a micro-sized mesh loaded with docetaxel and diclofenac to animal models of glioblastoma resulted in no recurrence up to eight months after tumor resection without any noticeable side effects.
In the short term, the main goal of the researchers will be to test the technology on patients with glioblastoma.
The modular structure of the microgrid, which allows it to be independently loaded with various molecules and nanomedical drugs, including immunotherapy, along with its mechanical flexibility, allows it to be used for the treatment of various other types of cancer and to select patient-specific dosages and medications.
Article D.Di Mascolo et al. Conformable hierarchically engineered polymeric micromeshes enabling combinatorial therapies in brain tumours is published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on EurekAlert: MicroMesh: a microscopic polymeric network to attack glioblastoma multiforme.