In certain patients, castrate-resistant or metastatic prostate cancer can spread to the bone. Although many new treatments are available, they can have a hard time reaching the bone and frequently result in missing the metastatic lesions.

New study presented at the 2017 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition aims to tackle this challenge by developing a bone-targeted nanoparticle (NP) that delivers cabazitaxel, a chemotherapy drug, directly to the bone.
Jamboor K Vishwanatha, Ph.D. and his group from University of North Texas Health Science Center designed the NP formulation to bind to the bone’s chemical structure and were effective at maintaining bone structure, reducing tumor size and decreasing pain. In the study, titled “Efficient Bone Microenvironment Nano-targeting for Improved Therapy for Bone Metastatic Prostate Cancer,” bone tumors were established in mice (starting n=6 per group) for one week and then weekly with either free cabazitaxel, saline, non-targeted NPs, or targeted NPs.

A significant and troubling issue for prostate cancer patients is when the cancer spreads to the bone, resulting in difficult-to-treat and painful lesions. A key focus for our research was to reduce tumor size and pain.
Andrew Gdowski, D.O., Primary Author

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