Cancer-Fighting Drugs Delivered Right To The Tumor

An encapsulation breakthrough by researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology may enable doctors to deliver anti-cancer drugs directly to tumors over extended periods of time, while preventing the systemic side effects of chemotherapy and other current cancer treatments.

The system consists of polymeric microcapsules containing human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) engineered to produce proteins that prevent cancer growth. The system is novel because it isolates and protects the encapsulated MSCs from their surroundings while allowing for the free exchange of nutrients and oxygen they need to survive.

In the journal FASEB, the researchers report that this system led to an 87% reduction in volume and an 83% reduction in weight of a treated glioma tumor in mice after two weeks of treatment.

According to lead researcher Prof. Marcelle Machluf of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, previous attempts to encapsulate cells that create anti-cancer drugs and implant them near cancerous tumors were unsuccessful mainly because the cells eventually triggered immune reactions in the body. Read more