Pancreatic cancer is a rare but difficult-to-treat disease that often results in unpleasant side effects for patients. However, a new drug delivery system developed by researchers at Houston Methodist could change that. The stainless steel device, called a “nanofluidic drug-eluting seed” (NDES), can be implanted directly into a tumor and release lab-made proteins called monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) over a sustained period of two weeks. This allows for a more focused and effective therapy using less medication, which could dramatically decrease unpleasant side effects for patients.
Current therapies can leak out of tumors rapidly, requiring patients to undergo the administration procedure repeatedly. However, the NDES is designed to release mAbs slowly over a longer period of time, which makes it unique compared to existing implants. When used in pancreatic tumors in mice, the NDES produced the same positive effect as systemic administration, but with a dose that was four times smaller and without triggering any treatment-related adverse effects.
The Houston Methodist team plans to continue studying the safety and effectiveness of their drug delivery system, with the goal of having it ready to deliver mAbs and other immunotherapeutics to pancreatic tumors in patients within five years. Their ultimate goal is to transform the way cancer is treated by providing a more focused, minimally-invasive, and effective therapy using less medication.