The tiny bubbles that could transform cancer treatment
TINY bubbles loaded with lifesaving drugs promise to revolutionise the treatment of cancer.
The breakthrough by Oxford University biomedical engineers means that the debilitating sideeffects of chemotherapy could be significantly reduced and medication made more effective.
The scientists developed a way to put drugs into microscopic bubbles which can be injected into the blood stream.
When the bubbles – each a hundredth the width of a human hair – reach the unhealthy part of the body they are burst with ultrasound waves, releasing the drug exactly where it is needed.
Experts have already started clinical trials on one part of the technology, and hope an early form might be rolled out on the NHS within two years.
The development has the potential to transform the lives of countless patients, as delivering drugs directly to a tumour makes the medication far more effective. And because the entire blood stream is not being flooded with the drug, side-effects from chemotherapy including hair loss and nausea are greatly reduced.
Project leader Professor Eleanor Stride, of the Oxford Institute of Biomedical Engineering, said her team’s discoveries mean that existing ways of treating disease can be improved, rather than medicine relying on further innovations.
She said: ‘Our recent results suggest that we can vastly improve the way we deliver existing drugs – and that this could be far more effective in the long run than inventing new cures.’
The microbubbles – tiny balls of gas enclosed in an ultrathin layer of fat – are already used as an imaging tool for ultrasound scans.
Now the Oxford team is adapting that technology by inserting drugs into the bubbles, which are then injected into the bloodstream.
An ultrasound scanner is then targeted at the relevant part of the body. When the bubbles pass through the ultrasound wave, they vibrate so hard that they burst, releasing the medication.
One clinical trial has already begun – testing the effect of ultrasound on a particular chemotherapy drug. A second is due to start, testing the safety of the bubbles themselves.
Professor Stride said: ‘If everything goes well, we could be talking about two years until this technology is being used for chemotherapy patients.’
Another use for microbubbles would be for stroke patients, to deliver clot-busting drugs directly to the right area. Cheap medication could also be made vastly more effective by the technology. However, the Oxford team are still continuing to improve upon the technique – last week they were awarded the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s £300,000 A.F. Harvey research prize to investigate more advanced microbubbles.
Thanks to the prize, they are now experimenting with impregnating the fatty outer layer with metals so they become magnetic, so they could be sent even more accurately towards target sites.
Sir John O’Reilly, who chaired the IET’s prize committee, said: ‘Prof Stride’s ongoing research is likely to have huge societal benefits and important implications for society and the healthcare industry.’
But Dr Aine McCarthy, of Cancer Research UK said: ‘Microbubble technology is an interesting experimental technique, but much more research is needed to see if it’s a safe, effective way to treat cancer.’
‘Drastically reduce side effects’