Pancreatic cancer often recurs because cancer cells that are invisible to the naked eye remain post-surgery. Approximately 50% of these recurrences occur within the pancreas itself. Post-operative chemotherapy reaches only about 5% of cancer cells, a figure that's even lower in aggressive cancers like pancreatic cancer. The majority of the drug ends up elsewhere in the body, leading to side effects such as nausea, infections, fatigue, bleeding, and hair loss. Researchers are now developing an innovative device designed to deliver chemotherapy directly to the surgical site, aiming to reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer recurrence.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham (Birmingham, UK) have created a prototype of a device, named ChemoPatch, that can be attached directly to the pancreas during surgery, enabling precise delivery of chemotherapy to any residual cancer cells. The team is currently refining the design of this implantable device that considers size, flexibility, and form. The device will use a hollow silicone tube to load chemotherapy drugs, which it will then release gradually over a seven-day period. The researchers are exploring methods to securely attach the device to the pancreatic tissue, including using sutures and surgical adhesives. Should the development prove successful, the next steps involve advancing the ChemoPatch to clinical trials to further evaluate its efficacy and safety.

“We have good drugs, we just choose to give them to patients in an inefficient way by injecting them into the blood stream or swallowing them as a tablet,” said Dr. Christopher McConville, Associate Professor in Pharmaceutics, Formulation and Drug Delivery, who is leading the project. “When we test cancer drugs on cells in the lab or in mice they show a lot of promise, however, this is rarely replicated in patients due to not enough drug getting to the cancerous tissue to work, plus we are limited in how much we can give due to their side effects. This is particularly true for hard-to-treat cancers. Using an approach like ChemoPatch will allow us to deliver small, but effective, doses of the drugs directly to the cancerous tissue, improving their clinical performance by increasing efficacy while reducing toxicity.”

“We desperately need more treatment options for pancreatic cancer. Surgery is currently the only potentially curative treatment, however tragically in 75% of cases the cancer reoccurs within a year. It’s vital we stop this from happening,” added Dr. Chris MacDonald, Head of Research at Pancreatic Cancer UK. “This innovative new technique offers the opportunity to much more quickly deliver a high dose of post-operative chemotherapy to the right place, whilst also minimizing side-effects. If successful, this research could have a really positive impact for patients and, crucially, help improve survival for the deadliest common cancer.”

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