Advancements in breast cancer research
Its aggressive nature, high recurrence rate and frequent resistance to standard chemotherapy, makes triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) a challenging condition to treat. A new Taiwanese study has shown that combining ultrasound technology with biocompatible nanoparticles containing the cancer drug doxorubicin may be a promising future strategy for combatting drug resistance.
The study used doxorubicin-loaded fucoidan/arginine–gelatin nanoparticles to facilitate targeted drug delivery in mice. The nanoparticles effectively interacted with P-selectin, resulting in the inhibition of breast tumour growth. Furthermore, the nanoparticles mitigated multidrug resistance and epithelial–mesenchymal transition, a mechanism by which cancer cells become migratory and invasive. The study found that combining the doxorubicin-loaded nanoparticles with ultrasound technology significantly inhibited tumour growth, compared to using ultrasound or nanoparticles alone.
The study utilised high purity Fucus vesiculosus fucoidan produced in Australia by Marinova.
The full paper, ‘Combining ultrasound technology with targeted fucoidan/arginine-gelatin nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin to enhance therapeutic efficacy and modulate bioeffects in drug-resistant triple-negative breast cancer' was published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules.