Chemotherapy is currently one of the most widely known and commonly used treatments for cancer. However, one of the main cut-backs of chemotherapy is its side-effects including fatigue, hair loss, infections and many more that harm the quality of life. With cancer rates rising globally, improving the treatments for cancer is crucial. A recent study aimed to decrease the side-effects and target the tumors more effectively.
Cancer is one of the biggest threats to human life in this century. The reason why it is seen so commonly is the rise of pollution, poor diets, smoking, alcohol and much more. In fact, around 20 million new cancer cases were diagnosed and there were approximately 9.7 million cancer-related deaths worldwide in 2023. By 2040, these numbers are projected to rise significantly, with 29.9 million new cases and 15.3 million deaths expected annually.
Since it impacts such a large portion of the population, it is significant to improve the treatment methods to enhance well-being during treatment.
In the study published by Advanced Healthcare Materials, an active targeting strategy that is poised to carry the anticancer agents to the desired sites for therapeutic action is provided. During this procedure, toxicity to normal organs is avoided. A sugar molecule called hyaluronic acid – which you may have heard from various skincare products – could enhance the safety of chemotherapy by targeting receptors abundant on cancer cells. Hyaluronic acid can be used as delivery vehicles with enhanced active targeted capability toward cancers and minimized adverse effects of chemotherapeutic agents for cancer treatment.
This approach also builds on drug delivery vehicles called chitosans, which are derived from natural sugars in chitin and can be easily modified to improve drug delivery.
“Polysaccharide-based biomaterials have garnered significant attention in drug delivery due to their excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, low toxicity, and renewable prospects,” wrote the team.
Recent advancements in technology have allowed chitosan to be shaped into tiny, protective spheres that can carry chemotherapy drugs. This helps shield the drugs from breaking down before they reach the cancer cells, making the treatment more effective and easier on the body. Take docetaxel (DTX), for example—a powerful drug often used to treat solid tumors. While it’s effective, it also causes tough side effects. By wrapping DTX in these chitosan carriers, we can target the cancer more precisely and reduce the harsh side effects that patients often experience.
However, the current study’s method also uses passive targeting, which means it may not fully avoid toxicity to normal cells. This is where hyaluronic acid oligosaccharides come into play.
Cancer cells produce an enzyme called hydrolase that breaks down hyaluronic acid into smaller molecules known as oligosaccharides. These oligosaccharides assist cancer cells in moving and spreading throughout the body. They also interact with a receptor called CD44, which is present on the surface of cancer cells. By using hyaluronic acid oligosaccharides to target this receptor, drugs can be delivered directly to the cancer cells, potentially minimizing side effects and improving treatment effectiveness.
In preliminary tests, the DTX-loaded oligosaccharide nanospheres were seen to be better than other treatments with a 57.65% reduction in tumor growth in comparison with the control group and the DTX-only group.
Although this approach makes sense in theory, using hyaluronic acid oligosaccharides hasn't become widespread as they are difficult and costly to produce using traditional methods. However, the current research team found an alternative solution to overcome this challenge. Other than this, enzymatic production of oligosaccharides involves challenges like maintaining accurate conditions, making sure the quality is consistent and also the financial cost of high-purity enzymes and purification processes.
The results collected from this innovative study are highly promising. However, the drug delivery system still needs to be researched more and there is a significantly long road ahead for the usage of this drug delivery system clinically. It is fair to say that multiple years of testing and clinical trials are ahead in order to make this study more advanced. Despite the challenges and weaknesses of the study, it is certainly possible to overcome these obstacles. If so, this study and those that follow could positively impact many people’s lives by helping to reduce the side effects of regular chemotherapy.
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