Most effective method to administer chemotherapy

A team of the Arizona University (USA) It has created a new formulation of the Paclitaxel drug that could improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy against pancreas and breast cancer, at the same time reducing side effects on healthy tissues. The finding, published in Nature Cancerfeel the foundations for a New treatment platform against different types of tumors.

More efficacy with less side effects

“He Paclitaxel It is powerful and destroy cancer cellsbut to free all its therapeutic potential we have to address its toxicity, ”explains Jianqin Lu, a professor associated at the R. Ken Coit Faculty of the University of Arizona.

The new method is based on chemically joining Paclitaxel with sphingomyieline, a type of fat present in cell membranes, to form nanoves. These tiny bubbles allow The drug is better concentrated on tumors and remain longer in the body, accumulating less in organs such as the liver or spleen.

According to Lu“This platform improves drug administration and reduces side effects.”

Promising results in animal models

The new formulation, called Paclitaxome, showed better results than commercial versions Taxol and Abraxane in tests against triple negative breast cancer and pancreas cancer in mice. Later, the researchers developed an optimized version (CD47P/Aze-Paclitaxome) that managed to stop tumor growth and prolong survival.

“Many chemotherapeutic drugs have poor administration. Paclitaxoma is clinically promising because it manages the drug in the place of the tumor and prevents side effects”the oncologist adds Aaron ScottAssociated Professor at the University of Arizona Medicine.

The team also tested the combination of modified Paclitaxel with Gemcitabine and with carboplatinobserving better results in the face of conventional therapies in breast and pancreatic cancer models. In addition, they applied the same technology to another drug, the CamptoTecinain colon cancer with positive results.

“This strategy can be applied to other drugs and also to other diseases ”he says Lu. The research group already works to gather more preclinical data and bring this platform to clinical trials in humans.

“Our goal is to get to the first clinical trials. This technology can cover a variety of tumors in patients who desperately need better therapies”concludes Scott.