When it comes to 3D printing, the sky is the limit. As 3D printing technology continues to advance, applications can be as far reaching as airplane and automobile parts to medical devices and even anatomically correct, biocompatible models. Although 3D printing technology is developing at a rapid pace, the technology itself is not new. It emerged in the 1980s as a means of creating rapid prototypes. In recent years the applications for 3D printed models have evolved with the available hardware, software, and printable materials. Evolving technology, paired with the creative and innovative minds of scientists, engineers, and physicians, has been the launching pad for developments within 3D printing technology specific to healthcare. One way 3D printing technology is poised to create better patient outcomes is in creating an anatomically and patient-specific models to aid in surgery and medical procedures. With the capability to 3D ...
In 2016, the American 
Cancer Society predicts, cancer will kill more than 1,600 people per day. While medical science has made strides in treating and even curing some types of cancers, others doggedly remain beyond our ability to treat easily and effectively. Pancreatic cancer is one of them.
Cancer Society predicts, cancer will kill more than 1,600 people per day. While medical science has made strides in treating and even curing some types of cancers, others doggedly remain beyond our ability to treat easily and effectively. Pancreatic cancer is one of them.
Legendary Apple founder Steve Jobs, actor Patrick Swayze, opera singer Luciano Pavarotti and inspirational college professor Randy Pausch are among the lives claimed by pancreatic cancer. This year, more than 50,000 people will receive a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, and nearly 42,000 will die of it, according to the ACS. And while pancreatic cancer accounts for a relatively small portion of all cancers (just 3 percent), it accounts for a disproportionate percentage of all cancer deaths (7 percent).
However, a new and developing discovery by MIT researchers could begin turning the tide in the fight against pancreatic cancer — and polymer science plays a key role.
What makes pancreatic cancer so difficult to beat?
The pancreas is part of the endocrine system, and the organ nestles deep in the body behind the stomach. This location makes it difficult to deliver chemotherapy treatment directly to the organ. It’s also difficult to detect in its earliest, most treatable stages. People with early-stage pancreatic cancer may exhibit no symptoms.
In its earliest stage — resectable — pancreatic cancer tumors can be removed with surgery. Just 10 to 15 percent of patients are diagnosed in this stage, according to Cancer.net. Most patients are diagnosed in later stages, with between 45 to 55 percent learning they have pancreatic cancer when it’s metastasized and spread beyond the pancreas to other organs.
Researchers continue to work toward better screening and diagnostic methods that will allow them to detect pancreatic cancers at earlier stages. Meanwhile, researchers at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital are working on a way to make treatment more effective.
MIT’s research
The MIT researchers turned to PLGA, or poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), a polymer commonly used for drug delivery and medical applications, to create an implant they hope will deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to tumor sites within the pancreas. Currently, most patients receive chemotherapy drugs intravenously, but because the tumors are located so deeply in the body, typically have fewer blood vessels and have thick, fibrous coating, IV chemotherapy can be ineffective.
The implant is a narrow tube of PLGA film. Chemotherapy drugs are embedded into the implant, which is then placed at the tumor site with a catheter. Once in place, the implant film unrolls and shapes itself to the tumor. The drugs are released over time and only on the side of the implant that’s touching the tumor.
The implant is still in development and has only been tested in mice so far, but researchers say their tests show the implant can be 12 times more effective than IV chemotherapy.
“The greatest benefit of this device is the ability to implant it with minimally invasive procedures so we can give a tool to oncologists and surgeons to reach tumors that otherwise would be difficult to reach,” researcher Laura Indolfi told MIT News.
“The prospect of a novel delivery platform also opens the door to using a wide range of promising anticancer agents that had encouraging preclinical data but could not make it to patients due to systemic dose-limiting toxicities,” added Davi
d Ting, a co-author of MIT’s research paper.
d Ting, a co-author of MIT’s research paper.
Comments
Post a Comment