Nanoparticle drug delivery methods are found to be more effective in administering chemotherapy over oral treatment and could improve bowel cancer survival rates, a new study suggests.
A team of Indian and Australian scientists has recently published their findings in a first study that used a nanoparticle that specifically targets bowel cancer, known as the third most common all over the world and the second in terms of fatalities.
Researchers from the Manipal Academy of Higher Education and the Indian Institute of Science, together with members from the University of South Australia (UniSA), present their findings in the article "Chitosan-glucuronic acid conjugate coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles: A smart pH-responsive and receptor-targeted system for colorectal cancer therapy," appearing in the recent Carbohydrate Polymers journal.
HAMBURG, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 28: Visitors walk through a giant 20-meter long plastic bowel on February 28, 2009, in Hamburg, Germany. The bowel is part of a cancer campaign of the hospital 'Diakonieklinikum Hamburg'.
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Experiments Supporting Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Against Bowel Cancer
In their animal experiments, researchers report that a nanoparticle carrying the chemotherapy drug Capecitabine (CAP) attaches itself directly to the diseased cells without threat to the healthy ones. This response directly reduces the potential for side effects and the targeted approach reduces the size and number of tumors.
Sanjay Garg, UniSA Professor of Pharmaceutical Science and the only Australian member of the research team, explains in a news release that the CAP drug, also known by its trade name Xeloda, is the first-line drug used in treating bowel cancer. Prof. Garg, together with Professor Usha Nayak from Manipal, supervised the Ph.D. scholar Reema Narayan in the study.
"Due to its short life, a high dose is necessary to maintain effective concentration, resulting in some harsh side effects when delivered conventionally, including severe hand and foot pain, dermatitis, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and loss of taste," Professor Garg says.
Additionally, the side effects of the drugs are worsened as it can't distinguish between healthy and affected cells. This makes nanoparticle drug delivery a better option in addressing bowel cancer.
In their report, researchers say that using a nanoparticle to deliver CAP specifically to the tumor reduces the size and number of cancerous tumors, leads to less abnormal cells, better results for red and white blood cell counts, and less risk of damaging internal organs.
About Bowel Cancer
The term bowel cancer, according to the UK National Health Service, is a general term for the abnormal growth of cells starting in the large bowel and depending on where it begins, might also be called colon or rectal cancer.
In the United States, cancer information portal Cancer.net reports that for 2021, close to 150,000 adults are at risk of contracting colorectal cancer - including 104,270 cases of colon cancer and 45,230 new cases of rectal cancer.
Advancements in technology have made significant progress in treating colorectal cancer. Compared to 1970, the fatality rate in 2018 was already less by 55 percent. Cancer.net credits this to improvements in treatment and screening methods.
Risk factors in the development of bowel cancer include the consumption of processed meat, red meat, alcoholic drinks, and obesity.
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