Drug-laden “popping bubbles” treatment for Liver Cancer

In an interdisciplinary collaboration between prominent academic and industry investigators, researchers have discovered a novel method for repositioning an FDA-approved anti-cancer compound so it can specifically target liver cancer tumors. A “triple attack” technique combining chemotherapy, thermal ablation, and hyperthermia provided a highly targeted, yet minimally invasive approach.“In this study, we re-purposed the topical agent bexarotene (Targretin), currently in limited use for cutaneous manifestations of T-cell lymphomas, and re-engineered it for use in solid tumor applications by forming self-assembling nanobubbles,” explained Dipanjan Pan, assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who led the study. “These tiny bubbles filled with Targretin in ‘prodrug’ form can be ‘popped’ to release the drug inside liver cancer cells, activating the prodrug during cellular internalization process. The probability of its undesired systemic release is minimal due to this highly selective activation mechanism, which helps to spare the healthy cells.”