Do you like it with or without liposomes?
A test for susceptibility to anti-cancer drugs has been created, which will help patients save time and money
NUST MISIS blog, Naked Science
NUST MISIS and JSC Biohimmash have developed and patented a technology for evaluating and predicting the effectiveness of modern antitumor nanopreparations for each individual patient. The use of the method will help to choose the most effective individual therapy for the patient, as well as save up to a hundred times on the cost of one injection of the drug.
Today, the innovative drug liposomal doxorubicin is increasingly used in oncotherapy. "Liposomal doxorubicin is an antitumor toxin packed in liposomes – artificially created fat bubbles. Unlike conventional doxorubicin, it has fewer side effects, but the high cost is up to 100,000 rubles for 50 mg, while the same amount of conventional doxorubicin costs 1,000 rubles," said Maxim Kartashov, General Director of JSC Biochemmash.
The drug, which is nanoparticles up to 100 nanometers in size in the liposomal membrane, selectively penetrates into the tumor without harming healthy tissues, thanks to the so–called EPR effect of "increased permeability and retention". The EPR effect (Enhanced Permeability and Retention) occurs in a number of malignant tumors due to excessive vascular proliferation caused by the abnormal need of the tumor for oxygen and nutrition. However, this progressive and gentle method of treatment is not suitable for all patients.
"With pathological growth in the walls of vessels of a number of malignant formations, large pores up to 200 nanometers in diameter appear. Also, tumor growth causes compression of lymphatic vessels and prevents the normal outflow of intercellular fluid. Thus, liposomes with the drug penetrate into the tumor and cannot exit due to impaired lymphatic drainage, which ensures the selective effect of the toxin only on pathological cells.
Intercalation (reversible inclusion of a molecule or group between other molecules or groups) of doxorubicin molecules between DNA strands, suppressing the synthesis of nucleic acids / ©Wikipedia.
However, the EPR effect is not typical for all types of cancer, and susceptibility to nanoscale substances may be absent in some cases. This means that the use of expensive doxorubicin will be useless for a number of patients," explains Maxim Abakumov, Candidate of Chemical Sciences, Head of the Biomedical Nanomaterials laboratory at NUST MISIS.
NUST MISIS scientists have developed a unique hardware complex for the intravital study of a tumor, its microenvironment and its interaction with nanoforms of medicines. With its help, a technology was created, which consists in the preliminary introduction of safe nanoscale magnetic tags in liposomes to the patient and subsequent MRI scanning, which detects whether the nanopreparation accumulates selectively (selectively) in the tumor node in a particular patient.
Thus, the method establishes the feasibility of using a liposomal/nanoscale form of treatment in each patient. Which allows you to save on expensive treatment. "It allows you to determine the optimal therapy strategy almost immediately and at no great cost, reduce the cost of treatment and reduce side effects. The industrial partner of the project, JSC Biochemmash, plans to conduct preclinical and clinical trials as soon as possible," Maxim Kartashov emphasized.
The research was conducted within the framework of the federal target program "Research and development in priority areas of development of the scientific and technological complex of Russia for 2014-2020" with the financial support of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.
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