A team from the University of California San Diego (UCSD), say that because the nanoparticles target only the cells causing the tumor, such drugs could make for smaller, safer doses for treating cancer growth.
The anti-cancer drug delivery system focuses on a protein marker called integrin, which is found on the surface of certain tumor blood vessels. The marker is responsible for the development of new blood vessels and malignant tumor growth.
The research, which halted the metastasis of pancreatic and kidney cancers throughout the bodies of mice, was a joint effort between scientists and oncologists in the university's health sciences and engineering departments. However, the system has little impact on primary tumors.
David Cheresh, a professor of pathology at the UCSD School of Medicine, said in a statement that they were able to establish the desired anti-cancer effect while delivering the drug at levels 15 times below what is needed when the drug is used systemically. The system works with a lower dose of chemotherapy because it attacks the cancer with much more precision.
The findings were published in this week's online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
