Pancreatic cancer is one of the most feared, and for good reason. It is not a very frequent tumor (about 6,500 cases per year in Spain, compared to 25,000 in breast or lung), but it is one of the most lethal, especially due to the difficulty of its diagnosis, which in most cases it is detected in late stages. It has a mortality of 95% five years after diagnosis, the average survival does not exceed 6 months and only one in four affected passes the year of life.
In addition, the location of the pancreas, which is deep in the abdomen, makes it difficult for chemotherapy to reach its goal. To help overcome that obstacle, researchers at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a small implantable device that delivers healing substances directly into the tumor.
In a trial with mice, the scientists found that this treatment was 12 times more effective than giving chemotherapy through intravenous injections, which is the most common method of attacking this disease.
The goal is for this system to shrink the tumor until surgeons can successfully remove it.
Researchers have created a flexible polymer from a polymer called PLGA. The result is a very thin film that can be rolled up into a narrow tube that is inserted into a catheter. Once the film reaches the pancreas, it unfolds, adapts to the shape of the tumor and releases the drugs it contains in a programmed way. The material is designed to only secrete substances on the side that is in contact with the tumor, minimizing side effects on nearby organs.
Works with rodents
Tests in mice that were given pancreatic cancer showed that tumors in those receiving this novel treatment grew more slowly than those in rodents receiving chemotherapy intravenously. In addition, this “targeted attack” increased the amount of necrotic tissue (dead tumor cells easily removed surgically), and the film acted as a physical barrier that reduced metastasis to nearby organs.
This research opens new avenues in the fight against deadly pancreatic cancer, which is highly resistant to chemotherapy, given its characteristics. Injections fail for three reasons: the depth at which this organ is located in the body, the scarcity of blood vessels in pancreatic tumors (which makes it difficult for drugs to access their interior) and the existence of a thick layer of fibrous tissue that usually surrounds and protects the cancer focus.
Photo (Bryce Vickmark): The flexible polymer developed by the researchers is rolled up and inserted into a catheter. When it reaches the pancreas, it unfolds, adapts to the shape of the tumor and releases the medicine it contains.
