University researchers have developed a method for treating cancerous tumors that takes advantage of new research in laser technology to amplify the effect of radiation treatment.
“The project was designed to solve a dilemma in radiation therapy,” said Ke Sheng, an assistant professor with the department of radiation oncology.
In cancer patients, tumors are surrounded by normal, non-cancerous tissue. When considering treatment for the tumor, Sheng said, doctors choose between using a low dose of radiation, which preserves the normal tissue but risks losing control of the tumor, or using a higher dose, which can result in “extreme toxicity” of the normal tissue.
The multidisciplinary team invented a particle conjugate composed of a quantum dot — a type of nanoparticle — and Photofrin, a photodynamic, or light-activated, drug. The nanoparticle can be used to trigger the photodynamic drug under layers of skin where external visible light sources are not as effective. When excited, the quantum dot emits a green light, which “can be used to activate [the] photodynamic drug [Photofrin] that can be used to kill tumor cells,” explained Wensha Yang, a material scientist in the University’s radiation oncology department.
Using the new process, doctors are able to kill more cancer cells with a similar dose of radiation, Sheng said.
“You don’t have to raise the radiation dose to control the tumor, and then you have [a] lower risk of causing severe toxicity to the surrounding normal tissue,” Sheng explained.
Sheng said he anticipates patients with lung cancer and liver cancer are most likely to benefit from this discovery. Both types of tumors are embedded in normal tissue, Sheng explained, and often require higher doses of radiation because they are very resistant to therapy. With the conjugate, “we’ll be able to use same or even lower radiation doses to achieve tumor control while reducing the risk of normal tissue complication,” he noted.
The conjugate is currently not available to the public in drug form, as the research is still in a clinical stage. According to Sheng, it usually takes five to 10 years for a drug to receive approval from the Federal Drug Administration.
The research team is beginning animal studies, Sheng said, examining the toxicity and safety of the conjugate and its effectiveness in a living biological system. Depending on these results, the research team will move on to three phases of clinical trials. They will use these results to seek FDA approval.
“It’s going to take a very long time, like any other drug development,” Sheng said. “That’s an inevitable, normal process.”
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