Safer way for using drug-eluting polymer beads to treat cancer

02-Nov-16

Scientists at the University of Huddersfield have developed a safer way for using drug-eluting polymer beads to treat cancer. In a paper published in the European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, a research team describes their new method for delivering anti-cancer drugs directly into tumors, effectively cutting off their blood flow, nutrients and oxygen supply. "There was no lab mimic that was able to adequately predict how the drug was released from these drug-eluting beads once they were in the body," study co-author Laura Waters explained. "The article describes a way of doing it in the lab. We compared our results with in vivo data and proved that the method worked." During the experiment, the researchers pumped a liquid that mimics blood at different rates through polymer beads, and modified the quantities of the anti-cancer drug contained in the beads. The team then compared their findings with in vivo data to establish their simulation technique.

Scientists say the experiment paves the way for medical professionals being able to make safer predictions when administering anti-cancer drugs to their patients. "We are continually innovating our drug-eluting bead technologies to introduce new features, such as X-ray visibility or biodegradability," professor Andy Lewis added. "It's important from a product development perspective that if we wanted to put other drugs into the beads, or change anything about their chemistry, we could use this system to predict product behavior before it is given to people."