Sponge allows less toxic chemotherapy

Physicians achieve breakthrough in the treatment of cancer

Chemotherapy leads to strong and very unpleasant side effects. Researchers have now come up with a way to make chemotherapy for cancer less toxic to the body. For this they used a device that resembles a tiny sponge that removes excess chemo-drugs (cytotoxic drugs) from the blood.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have developed a kind of sponge that could reduce the toxic side effects of chemotherapy. The results of their study have now been published in the English language journal "ACS Central Science".

Sponge removes drugs from the blood

In their examination, the experts tested a tiny sponge, which is located in a vein of the patient. There he removes excess chemo-drugs from the blood, as soon as they have attacked the target tumor, explain the authors of the study. Thus, various side effects of the treatment could be avoided, such as hair loss and nausea. So far, this type of treatment has only been used in pigs, the doctors plan to test the device but in the near future to humans.

Sponge was made with 3D printer

The tubular sponge comes from the 3D printer, so it could be tailored to individual patients, explain the researchers. Its reticulated center is covered with a special coating which absorbs the toxic agent but allows blood to flow freely through the device. Tests on pigs suggested that a cytostatic drug called doxorubicin was taken up by the sponge and about 64 percent of the drug could be removed from the bloodstream. The sponge seemed to store the drug permanently. After removal, even a continuous flushing of the sponge in the laboratory for a period of one month could not resolve the drug. This means that the drug can not escape when the sponge is removed from the body, the researchers explain.

Sponge should be compatible with various chemotherapeutic agents

The device was used during chemotherapy and removed after treatment. Each chemotherapy session would require a new device, say the doctors. The first results are promising and the device should also be compatible with other chemotherapeutic agents if the coating is well-matched, study author Dr. Balsara from the University of California, Berkeley.

Chemotherapy can cause dangerous side effects

The physicians believe that even the removal of 50 percent of the drugs significantly affect the treatment of patients. The results of the study are a new approach to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a cornerstone of cancer treatment. It can save lives, but it can also have undesirable effects on healthy and cancerous tissue and harm it, which can lead to serious side effects.

Further research is needed

The study shows that this new approach to treatment can extract molecules of drugs from the blood and remove high levels of drugs that have not been delivered to the cancer in animals, the researchers explain. Now more evidence must be found that this technique is safe for the patient. Only in this way can the experts determine whether this novel technique is an effective approach for the treatment of cancer patients. (As)