New collaboration aims to create an injectable paste to treat bone cancer
A paste made from gallium-doped bioglass could have anticancer and bone regenerative properties.
A collaboration between Aston University and The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital (both Birmingham, UK) to develop an injectable paste to treat bone cancer is set to take place thanks to a £110,000 grant from Orthopaedic Research UK (London) to the orthopedic hospital. The collaborative research team will use gallium-doped bioglass to produce a paste with anticancer and bone regenerative properties, which, if effective, could be used to treat patients with primary and metastatic cancer.
When bioactive glass and the metallic element gallium are combined, cancerous cells that remain after tumor removal can be killed with 99% success. This combination also allows for accelerated regeneration of the bone and prevention of bacterial contamination.
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“The injectable paste will function as a drug delivery system for localized delivery of anticancer gallium ions and bisphosphonates whilst regenerating bone. Our hypothesis is that this will promote rapid bone formation and will prevent cancer recurrence by killing residual cancer cells and regulating local osteoclastic activity,” commented Richard Martin (Aston University).
The hope for this injectable paste is that it will not only reduce cancer recurrence but also reduce infections at implant sites and rates of implant failure, particularly for large resections. This new therapeutic approach could also be used in combination with other minimally invasive treatments, such as cryoablation, for optimal management of metastatic bone lesions.
“The proposed biomaterial has the potential to drastically improve treatment outcomes of bone tumor patients by reducing cancer recurrence, implant-site infection rates, and implant failure rates leading to reduced time in hospital beds, less use of antibiotics, and fewer revision surgeries. Taken together, these benefits could improve survival rates, functionality and quality of life of bone cancer patients,” concluded Lucas Souza who is leading the project (The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital).