New therapeutic strategy for the treatment of breast cancer

Irene Vega

Nanomedicine is a relatively new field of research and presents multiple lines of research based on both the diagnosis and the prevention and treatment of different pathologies. It consists of applying nanotechnology to biomedical problems, such as cancer. The encapsulation of anticancer drugs and their transport to the tumor represent a promising strategy to mitigate adverse effects of current treatments and increase therapeutic efficacy. However, nanomedicine presents several challenges: avoiding premature escape of the drug and increasing precision towards tumor cells.

The work carried out by a multidisciplinary research team from the URJC, specifically from the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Group (GIQA) and the Diabecancer Molecular Group, presents a pioneering method for the encapsulation of drugs in nanoparticles (particles smaller than 100 nanometers ) for the treatment of breast cancer. The developed technique consists of the synthesis of Mesoporous Organosiliceous Drugs (MODs, from the acronym in English of Mesoporous Organosilica Drugs). “This is a new type of periodic mesoporous organosilicon materials (PMOs), in which the drug is an inherent component of the three-dimensional structure of the nanoparticle. This would act as a nanomedicine that would biodegrade over time, exercising its pharmacological activity continuously,” explains Rafael A. García-Muñoz, co-author of the study and researcher at the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Group (GIQA) of the URJC.

To analyze the effectiveness of anticancer activity in breast cancer cells, the scientific team has used various in vitro cellular techniques. In the tests, several nanoparticles have been synthesized, which have shown that, after biodegradation, they produce a sustained release of the drug over time, preventing its premature escape. “This innovative approach requires chemical modification of the drug for the synthesis of MODs nanoparticles and we have selected mitoxantrone (MTO), one of the drugs used for the treatment of breast cancer, for the development of MTO@MODs nanoparticles,” points out Eva Romaní Cubells, first co-author of the study and researcher of the GIQA group.

The results. of this work, published in the scientific journal Journal of Nanobiotechnology, demonstrate that the synthesis of this new type of nanomaterials has been carried out successfully. The MTO@MOD nanoparticles have confirmed their effectiveness in breast cancer cells and their synthesis - incorporating iron oxide inside - would allow them to be selectively directed to the tumor using a magnetic field.

The next challenge of this new line of research is to carry out studies in vivo to check whether the behavior of these nanomaterials is similar in a living organism. “We are developing a study with experimental animals, whose preliminary results are promising,” concludes Rafael A. García-Muñoz.

An alternative to current drugs

Chemotherapy, the main treatment for metastatic cancer, has serious adverse effects due to lack of selectivity. In addition to the serious impact on patients' quality of life, these adverse effects limit the dose that can be administered and, therefore, the therapeutic efficacy. Some drugs, such as mitoxantrone, cause a decrease in the number of immune cells in the blood (neutropenia), which is related to severe infections and even death.

The new method developed by the URJC scientific team, made up of experts from the GIQA group and the Diabecancer Molecular Group, is very promising because it substantially improves two of the most important challenges in nanomedicine: the premature escape of the drug from the interior of the nanoparticles and insufficient accumulation in the tumor. In this way, this pioneering technique could represent a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of cancer, in general, and breast cancer, in particular, since it allowed increasing therapeutic efficacy and reducing or even avoiding the adverse effects associated with chemotherapy. .

This study is included in the research line of drug delivery nanosystems, within the GIQA group and is funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain, the Community of Madrid, the aid program for Talent Attraction and the I research the European Union Next Generation.

Image: Scheme of the synthesis of magnetic MTO@MODs and their application for the treatment of breast cancer as nanovehicles that specifically target the tumor through the external use of a magnet.