This innovative technology stems from Dr Deng’s research that photodynamic therapy (PDT) agents can be triggered by low dose X-ray radiation. The stimulated PDT agents produce active species which destabilise liposome structure and trigger the drug release from the liposomes. Inspired by this discovery, her team creatively combined two existing clinical techniques used in cancer treatment – radiation and chemotherapy through a nanoparticle drug delivery system. The innovative aspect of this technology is the radiation-triggered instant drug release from the liposomes at the tumour site. Using very low radiation doses, the drug is released and becomes significantly more toxic to cancer cells than current administration. What’s more, as cytotoxic drugs can only be released within the radiotherapy field (confined to the tumour site), any toxicity to other healthy tissues is largely reduced.
In this manner, this technology has demonstrated impressive anticancer efficacy in a mouse model by one-dose injection and single irradiation. This innovation will be applicable to treat deep tumours due to high penetration depth of radiation. Funding provided by NFMRI is supporting safety and efficacy studies.
