美秘密研制抗癌药物
http://www.100md.com
国医网
SAN DIEGO (Reuters Health) - Researchers in Utah are working on a new drug delivery system to treat cancer tumors.
``We had this idea of creating a 'magic bullet'--we wanted to make an anti-cancer drug that could bypass normal healthy tissue and target tumor cells,'' lead researcher Dr. Natalya Rapoport of the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, told Reuters Health. ``Another one of our goals is to create a treatment that will overcome the problems that cancer patients face with drug resistance,'' she added.
To do this, Rapoport and her colleagues encapsulated an anti-cancer drug in polymer micelles--very tiny spheres that have a hollow core surrounded by a shell. The shell helps keep the contents of the core from being recognized by the body's immune system, Rapoport explained.
The preliminary research findings were presented here Thursday at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
The drug delivery system is very stable and can travel in the bloodstream without breaking down very quickly.
Since tumors have voracious appetites in order to maintain their accelerated growth, they require a substantial amount of nutrients. This means that they are constantly growing new blood vessels to bring in more blood to fuel their growth. The blood vessels of tumors are different from normal blood vessels in the body and are much more permeable, allowing the little capsules to gain entry into the tumor cell, Rapoport noted.
``We have found that the anti-cancer drugs are able to collect in the cancer tumor cells,'' she said. ``This fact may also help limit the amount of exposure of healthy tissue to the anti-cancer drug, which may reduce side effects to the drugs,'' she pointed out.
Once the drug is inside the tumor, the scientists plan to use ultrasound (high-frequency sound waves) to help the anti-cancer drug break free from the container and kill the tumor cells.
In cell cultures, the researchers have used the technique to successfully deliver the anti-cancer drug into cancer cells that are naturally resistant to existing chemotherapy drugs.
So far, the team has only begun testing the technique in rats, but if these tests go according to plan, the researchers are looking forward to human trials in about 3 years, Rapoport stated., http://www.100md.com
``We had this idea of creating a 'magic bullet'--we wanted to make an anti-cancer drug that could bypass normal healthy tissue and target tumor cells,'' lead researcher Dr. Natalya Rapoport of the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, told Reuters Health. ``Another one of our goals is to create a treatment that will overcome the problems that cancer patients face with drug resistance,'' she added.
To do this, Rapoport and her colleagues encapsulated an anti-cancer drug in polymer micelles--very tiny spheres that have a hollow core surrounded by a shell. The shell helps keep the contents of the core from being recognized by the body's immune system, Rapoport explained.
The preliminary research findings were presented here Thursday at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
The drug delivery system is very stable and can travel in the bloodstream without breaking down very quickly.
Since tumors have voracious appetites in order to maintain their accelerated growth, they require a substantial amount of nutrients. This means that they are constantly growing new blood vessels to bring in more blood to fuel their growth. The blood vessels of tumors are different from normal blood vessels in the body and are much more permeable, allowing the little capsules to gain entry into the tumor cell, Rapoport noted.
``We have found that the anti-cancer drugs are able to collect in the cancer tumor cells,'' she said. ``This fact may also help limit the amount of exposure of healthy tissue to the anti-cancer drug, which may reduce side effects to the drugs,'' she pointed out.
Once the drug is inside the tumor, the scientists plan to use ultrasound (high-frequency sound waves) to help the anti-cancer drug break free from the container and kill the tumor cells.
In cell cultures, the researchers have used the technique to successfully deliver the anti-cancer drug into cancer cells that are naturally resistant to existing chemotherapy drugs.
So far, the team has only begun testing the technique in rats, but if these tests go according to plan, the researchers are looking forward to human trials in about 3 years, Rapoport stated., http://www.100md.com