NANOCARGO · Photo/magnetic stimulated nanocargos for superior cancer treatments

Photo/magnetic stimulated nanocargos for superior cancer treatments

1.1 What is the problem being addressed by Nanocargo? The disease targeted in Nanocargo is breast cancer (BC) which is considered as one of the most invasive and common cancers among women worldwide, affecting 2.1 mln female patients each year. Breast cancer is as well the leading cause of cancer death among European women, 1 in 8 women in the EU-28 will develop BC before the age of 85. There have been significant advancements in the treatment of BC in recent years but the mortality rate remains still high. Nowadays a full removal of breast tissues (mastectomy) or partial mastectomy (lumpectomy) is considered as primary treatment. In advanced stages the adjuvant treatment merging chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal/biological therapy is applied. Within Nanocargo we developed a superior breast cancer therapy and diagnosis (theranostic) approach that destroys cancer cells inside the body without the need for painful surgery. For this purpose we use functionalized nanoparticles and enhance the effectiveness of therapy by combining photothermal therapy (PTT) and magnetic hyperthermia (MHT) with localized pharmacotherapy in a targeted and minimally invasive procedure. 1.2 Why Nanocargo' results are important for society? According to the WHO data BC is not only the most frequent carcinoma among of female but also a cause of app. 15% of all cancer-related deaths. Around 1% of all patients are man, who are most often diagnosed at an advanced stage and thus usually have lower overall survival rates. European Cancer Information System statistics show that in 2018 the number of diagnosed BC incidents across EU was 405,000, with relevant number of deaths 98,000. ECIS predicts that this year the cancer burden will rise up to 2.7 mln new cases (data for 27 EU countries, both sex) with women breast cancer estimated to be most commonly diagnosed carcinoma at the level of 28,7%. Therefore effective breast cancer prevention, including extensive screening and early diagnosis, as well as development of new and dedicated cancer treatment strategies tailored to the individual needs of patients, is crucial to improve treatment outcomes. 1.3 What were the overall objectives of Nanocargo project? The innovation developed within Nanocargo project met all the initially proposed scientific objectives. We developed the next generation personalized breast cancer treatment which uses few different therapeutic strategies at the same time and multiple imaging modalities for therapy monitoring. This synergistic approach provides a rapid, safe, and effective treatment and better visualization of tumor inside the body.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union