Device smaller than the grain of rice to administer an anticancer therapy without side effects: study

Houston : Scientists have developed an implantable nanodisk to perform immunotherapy without side effects and treat triple negative bad cancer.

Inserted directly into a tumor, this nanofluidic seed can deliver once, According to a study published in the Journal of Controlled Release, a sustained release dose that would eliminate the need for patients to undergo multiple treatments over time .

Invented by Alessandro Grattoni of the Houston Methodist Research Institute in the United States, this tiny device is smaller than a grain of rice and, once inserted into a tumor, it can administer the drug little by little, gradually releasing the drug from its reservoir. .

"With this research, we are trying to establish a new strategy for administering immunotherapy directly into a tumor instead of administering it to the entire body of the patient," Grattoni said.

"And we are trying to understand, if doing it that way would actually be more effective and have fewer side effects than conventional immunotherapy, which is now being administered to the whole body of the body. patient, "he said.

What distinguishes the approach of others is the use of the implantable nanodevice that can be placed inside the tumor very precisely, in a single, simple procedure and able to maintain the administration of immunotherapy over a prolonged period. [19659002] "The timing of the release can be extremely important," said E Brian Butler of Houston Methodist.

"These immunotherapy payloads are provided in a small metal device with nanochannels that release the drug at a constant rate in a controlled manner." Butler.

Grattoni said that by providing sustained doses, their implant maintains an active level of the drug for long periods of time. This would reduce the number of regular visits to the clinic, usually required for immunotherapy and other cancer treatments.

In contrast, most other methods currently undergoing preclinical and clinical trials require multiple injections into the tumor and, in many cases, require

injecting drugs directly into a tumor in one dose One may not be very effective because only a part of it will remain, the rest being rapidly eliminated due to the high pressure nature of the tumor. micro-environment.

Grattoni's intratumoral extended release method prevents this from happening.

"We are living an exciting time in medicine, because if we can make it work, you reduce toxicities for the patient." Butler said. "This offers the opportunity to treat locally and obtain a systemic response without any side effects," he said.

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