Nanodiamonds against triple negative breast cancer
Recently, doctors have classified breast cancer cases according to four main groups that differ in the genetic profile of malignant cells. The belonging of a tumor to one or another category mainly determines the method of treatment chosen by clinicians.
Whereas tumors of the three groups of this classification, as a rule, respond well to targeted therapy, cancer of the fourth category – the so–called basal-like or thrice negative breast cancer - often does not respond to treatment, is characterized by a high degree of aggressiveness, a tendency to relapse and high mortality.
Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles, working under the guidance of Professor Dean Ho, have developed an approach that could potentially solve this problem. They suggest using nanodiamonds to fight triple-negative breast cancer.
Nanodiamonds with a diameter of 4-6 nanometers are a by-product of diamond mining and processing. The researchers managed to apply a combination of several compounds with antitumor activity to their surface, including the widely used epirubicin chemotherapy drug, despite its high toxicity. After that, a lipid membrane coated with antibodies to the epidermal growth factor receptor, a high concentration of which is characteristic of the cell surface of thrice-negative breast cancer, was applied to the resulting structure.
In experiments on mice, the therapeutic agent created by the authors demonstrated the ability to significantly suppress tumor growth without causing the toxic side effects usual for chemotherapy.
Due to its high toxicity, epirubicin can lead to serious consequences such as heart failure, a decrease in the number of white blood cells in the blood and the development of leukemia. All control group mice that received this drug died long before the study was completed. At the same time, all the animals of the experimental group, which were injected with a lipid-nanodiamond complex, survived. Moreover, a complete disappearance of tumors was registered in some of them.
Currently, researchers are testing the targeted delivery system of antitumor drugs developed by them on larger animal models. They believe that the platform they have proposed is of exceptional value, since it can be used to treat various diseases.
Article by Laura Moore et al. Diamond-Lipid Hybrids Enhance Therapeutic Tolerance and Mediate Tumor Regression is published in the journal Advanced Materials.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the University of California – Los Angeles:
Researchers find nanodiamonds could improve effectiveness of breast cancer treatment.
17.04.2013