By Admin at 28 Apr 2016, 16:39 PM

The pancreas’ location deep in the abdomen makes it a difficult target for typical chemotherapy drugs, which tend to be injected intravenously.

Adding to the complexity, pancreatic tumors have few blood vessels (which provide entryways for the drugs to get in), and they may be surrounded by a fibrous coating that makes it even harder for drugs to penetrate the mass. As such, pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest to treat, and deadliest, forms of cancer.

However, a new implantable device, developed by researchers from MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital, may allow for more targeted pancreatic-cancer treatment that is up to 12 times more effective than delivering chemotherapy drugs via intravenous injection.

The device is a type of film made out of flexible polymer called PLGA, which is used already for various drug-delivery systems. The film is embedded with drugs, rolled up and inserted via a catheter directly to the site of the tumor. Once there, it unfolds and conforms to the shape of the tumor.

The film only releases medications from the side touching the tumor, which minimizes damage done to nearby organs. The medications can also be pre-programmed to release over a certain period of time.

In a study on mice with human pancreatic tumors that had been transplanted in, the drug-delivery implant (infused with the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel) led to several notable improvements over standard treatment (chemotherapy injections for four weeks). Among them:

• Tumor growth slowed
• Tumors shrank in some cases
• The amount of necrotic (dead) cancerous tissue, which may be surgically removed, increased
• The film reduced metastasis to nearby organs by acting as a barrier

The implanted film device proved to be very effective at delivering the medication to the tumor. After four weeks, the drug concentration in the tumors of mice with the implanted device was five times higher than in mice receiving injectable drugs.

In this case, the pancreatic tumors’ low level of blood vessels also acted as a benefit, as the locally applied chemotherapy drugs stayed in the tumor and there was less spread to other organs. Study author Elazer Edelman told Medical Xpress:

"This combination of local, timed, and controlled release, coupled with the judicious use of critical compounds, could address the vital problems that pancreatic cancer has provided as obstacles to pharmacological therapy.”

The researchers are now planning a clinical trial in humans with the hope the device will one day help extend lifespan and improve quality of life for pancreatic cancer patients. They also envision the device being useful for treating other hard-to-reach tumors, such as those in the gastrointestinal tract.

Sources
Biomaterials July 2016
Medical Xpress April 14, 2016

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