Addressing limitations of existing medical procedures, researchers from several institutes have jointly developed a technique to reduce post-surgery tumour recurrence in cancer patients by using an implant consisting of metal-based nanomedicine along with blood-clotting components derived from tissues or cells of patients.
The technology can be used to fabricate a therapeutic kit that can generate this hybrid implant by using simple equipment such as handheld homogeniser and a centrifuge which can be beneficial to marginalised cancer patients, according to scientists.
The Institute of Nano Science and technology, Mohali; Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh; Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar; and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bilaspur, are involved in the project.
Experts said that surgery and chemotherapy are inevitable in managing solid tumours. However, local recurrence due to residual tumour and systemic toxicity from drug non-specificity make these vital modalities inefficient.
Nanotechnological tools show promise in reducing toxicity and improving solubility of chemo-drugs, but their progress is reduced due to factors like poor tumour bioavailability and rapid clearance. A key obstacle is also the adsorption of host serum proteins over the surface of nanoparticles.
Researchers at these institutes developed and tested an indigenous intra-operative combination treatment consisting of a hybrid implant of drugs and metal-based nanomedicine stabilised by patient derived serum protein corona to aid in the post-surgical management of locally recurrent tumours.
Protein corona has been recently established as a molecular fingerprint of a patient and can be integrated into the basic design of nanoparticles for a futuristic personalised treatment strategy.
The hybrid implant so developed quickly bonds with damaged tissue in the residual tumour bed and after closure of the surgical site, localised chemo-phototherapy impedes tumour recurrence.
Scientists said that the hybrid implant exhibited remarkable synergy and superior outcomes in suppressing recurrent breast tumours and the host-specific approach addressed the limitations of conventional therapies and ensured.
Considering the large number of patients suffering from solid tumours in India, an affordable methodology for localised post-surgical management will have significant impact in controlling recurrence of primary tumour or its spread to other organs, according to the scientists.
