New injectable gel-like stents: may destroy cancer.

Scientists have developed an injectable gel-like stent that can be combined with chemotherapy immunotherapy drugs and sent sequentially to local tumors.
so far, animal models have shown that this approach could one day improve the outcome of treatment in tumor patients or patients with primary tumor removal.
the study, published in Science Translational Medicine, focuses on two specific types of melanoma and breast cancer, but this approach can play a role in other tissue types.
in addition, studies have shown that this combination of local births can significantly inhibit the recurrence of the primary tumor after surgical removal.
" we have created an easy way to harness the biological properties of tumors and our natural defenseagain against foreign invasions to suppress tumor development and limited side effects.
," said senior Dr. Zhen Gu. "We have a lot of work to do before human clinical trials, but we think this approach is promising,"
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"In our bodies, normal cells mutate from their typical patterns and functions."
thankfulthate that as our immune system gets normal cells along and performimportant biological functions, mutant cells are identified and destroyed.
However, unfortunately, these cells can hijack system designs to send them.
if this happens, these cancer cells become almost undetectable, free to multiply, and can form tumors.
immunotherapy is trying to reset our immune response to identify the cancer cells of these hijackers.
, for example, immunocheckpoint blocking (ICB) therapy targets cell pathways where cells die;
the treatment has shown great potential for treating a variety of cancers, such as melanoma, kidney cancer, head and neck cancer, bladder cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer.
but also have troublesome side effects, including starting the immune system against healthy tissue.
this immunotherapy usually does not work because many tumors lack specific characteristics for immunotherapy to identify and attack cancer cells as enemies.
these tumors are called low immunogenic tumors.
if they treat the tumor with chemotherapy first, immunotherapy would be better.
however, this approach is not enough for patients with low immunogenicity tumors.
as a result, scientists have been designing ways to make immunotherapy more effective.
for example, scientists are using delivery systems to deliver drugs and immunotherapy directly to tumor sites to improve treatment and reduce toxicity in other parts of the body.
, researchers at UNC and NC State University developed what they call a bioprotected stent system.
essentially, it's a hydrogel - an aggregation network that can be treated with drugs.
trick is that once the biocompatible polymer is mixed with its crosslink, the gel can form quickly in the body, and we ensure that one of the drugs can be broken down by reactive oxygen, a natural chemical by-product of cell metabolism.
in the context of cancer, high levels of ROS are a major factor in tumor development and growth.
researchers used a chemotherapy called gisitabin and an immunotherapy drug, anti-PD-L1 blocking antibodies to load the hydrogel stent.
when injected into a tumor, the gel promotes the tumor characteristics that immunotherapy can recognize.
then, in response to the highly rich ROS in the tumor, the stent gradually breaks down, first releasing Gisitabin, then anti-PD-L1.
"Cytotoxic chemotherapy can kill some cancer cells first and increase tumor sensitivity to ICB treatment, thereby stimulating the effectiveness of ICB treatment," said co-author Gianpietro Dotti, ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology, and member of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"As the gel degrades, ROS levels at the tumor site can be reduced, which also helps inhibit tumor growth.
"UNC/NC scientists tested this treatment for gel-mediated treatment against two types of cancer, B16F10 melanoma and 4T1 breast cancer, which is low immunogenicity.
this method can effectively make the tumor microenvironment easy to treat.
when the payload is released, the tumor decreases significantly.
, the researchers then performed a hydrogel stent at the surgical site after removing the primary tumor.
they witnessed a significant inhibition of cancer recurrence. "With regard to the potential of this approach, scientists should further study the biocompatibility of gel stents for clinical benefit," Gu said.

" at the same time, we will optimize the dosage and frequency of treatment of the combined drug.
" Source: Decoding Medicine.