Breakthrough in Treating Rare Pregnancy-Related Cancer: Researchers Develop Enhanced Drug Delivery System
A new drug delivery system shows promise for treating a rare, aggressive form of cancer affecting pregnant women and new mothers, and it has potential with other cancers as well, reports a recent research article published in the Small Science Journal.
Gestational choriocarcinoma (CC) is a rare and highly malignant cancer originating from the trophoblastic layers of the placenta. Currently, methotrexate (MTX) is the first-line treatment for choriocarcinoma (CC); however, due to the aggressive and metastatic nature of choriocarcinoma (CC), multiple doses are often required, leading to severe side effects from the lack of tumour specificity.
Typically starting in the uterus, choriocarcinoma develops from cells that were part of the placenta. It can occur after a miscarriage, abortion or ectopic pregnancy, one in which a fertilized egg implants somewhere other than the lining of the uterus.
It can also happen following a molar pregnancy (no embryo forms, and the placental tissue grows abnormally) and even after a full-term pregnancy.
Taratula and collaborators including OSU postdoctoral researcher Babak Mamnoon and Maureen Baldwin, a physician at Oregon Health & Science University, designed a type of drug nanocarrier known as a polymersome to specifically target a protein in choriocarcinoma cells.
Polymersomes are hollow spheres that are synthetic versions of liposomes, lipid-based sacs found in all living cells. The protein the researchers aimed for is equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1, usually abbreviated as ENT-1, which is important for a range of cellular processes, among them DNA and RNA synthesis.
“Given MTX’s role as the mainstay treatment for choriocarcinoma, the critical goal now is to enhance its effectiveness, including faster response times, while simultaneously minimizing side effects,” said Taratula, an associate professor in the OSU College of Pharmacy.
Most cases, especially if caught early, are curable, with a five-year survival rate of about 87%.
Hence, the authors concluded that the upshot is more effective treatment coupled with fewer or less severe side effects, and with further research, the same approach could be applied to treating other cancers.
Ref: Mamnoon B, Souza APM et al. ENT-1-Targeted Polymersomes to Enhance the Efficacy of Methotrexate in Choriocarcinoma Treatment. Small Science;
https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202400361
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