Harvard Study Finds Mesothelioma Survival Doubled By Novel Drug Delivery Method, According to Surviving Mesothelioma
Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) December 29, 2016 -- Researchers at Harvard and Boston University recently tested a method for delivering a cancer drug into peritoneal mesothelioma cells using specially-designed nanoparticles. Surviving Mesothelioma has just published details of the new animal study. Click here to read it now.
The study involved mice with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare form of asbestos cancer that affects the lining of the abdomen.
According to the report in the journal Biomaterials, the mice received injections of expansile nanoparticles (eNPs) loaded with the drug paclitaxel (PTX). Expansile nanoparticles expand in the presence of low pH to release the drug.
“As a result, overall survival of animals with established mesothelioma more than doubled when animals were treated with multiple doses of PTX-eNPs compared to equivalent dosing with PTX or non-responsive PTX-loaded nanoparticles,” writes Rong Liu, MD, PhD, a thoracic surgeon at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
With the eNP drug delivery method, the drug not only entered mesothelioma tumors quickly, but was retained in the tissue for more than two weeks.
“This study is significant because it suggests a way to get around the kinds of side effects that so often limit the dose - and the effectiveness - of current mesothelioma treatments,” says Alex Strauss, Managing Editor for Surviving Mesothelioma.
For all the details of the new mesothelioma treatment study, see New Drug Delivery System Doubles Mesothelioma Survival, now available on the Surviving Mesothelioma website.
Liu, R, et al, “Nanoparticle tumor localization, disruption of autophagosomal trafficking, and prolonged drug delivery improve survival in peritoneal mesothelioma”, September 2016, Biomaterials, pp. 175-186, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014296121630285X
For nearly ten years, Surviving Mesothelioma has brought readers the most important and ground-breaking news on the causes, diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma. All Surviving Mesothelioma news is gathered and reported directly from the peer-reviewed medical literature. Written for patients and their loved ones, Surviving Mesothelioma news helps families make more informed decisions.
Michael Ellis, Cancer Monthy, http://www.survivingmesothelioma.com, +1 (919) 570-8595, [email protected]
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