Researchers at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital secure funding to develop cancer-killing injectable paste for bone tumours
The Dubrowsky Lab at BHP member the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital (ROH) has secured a £110k grant from Orthopaedic Research UK to develop an injectable paste with anticancer and bone regenerative properties.
The project will see researchers at ROH work with BHP members Aston University to produce an injectable paste comprised of gallium-doped bioglass that, if proved effective, could be used to treat patients with primary and metastatic bone cancer.
Dr Lucas Souza, Research Lab Manager at the Dubrowsky Lab and Lead Researcher for this new project, comments: “Advances in treatment of bone cancer have reached a plateau over the past 40 years, in part due to a lack of research studies into treatments and the complexity and challenges that come with treating bone tumours. Innovative and effective therapeutic approaches are needed and this grant from Orthopaedic Research UK provides vital funds for us to continue our research into the use of gallium-doped bioglass in the treatment of bone cancer.”
Gallium is a metallic element that has cancer-killing properties. When combined with bioactive glass the material can kill cancer cells that remain when a tumour is removed and accelerate the regeneration of the bone defect. In addition, the material also prevents bacterial contamination in the surgical site. A recent study led by Aston University in collaboration with the ROH found that bioactive glasses doped with the metal have a 99 percent success rate of eliminating cancerous cells.
The injectable paste is to function as a drug delivery system for localised delivery of anticancer gallium ions (GaBG) and bisphosphonates whilst regenerating bone. The team hypothesise that the GaBG and bisphosphonates will promote rapid bone formation and will prevent cancer re-occurrence by killing residual cancer cells and regulating local osteoclastic activity.
The new therapeutic approach will be particularly useful in reducing cancer re-occurrence, implant site infections and implant failure rates in cases of bone tumours where large resections for complete tumour removal is either not possible, e.g. when tumours are located too close to vital organs, or not recommended, e.g. in the treatment of bone metastases and aggressive benign bone tumours (such as Giant-cell tumour of bone) when the harm inflicted by a large surgical procedure may be greater than its benefits. It could also be used in combination with minimally invasive intralesional therapies such as cryoablation or radiofrequency ablation for optimal management of metastatic bone lesions.
Dr Lucas Souza adds: “The proposed biomaterial has the potential to drastically improve treatment outcomes of bone tumour patients by reducing cancer re-occurrence, implant-site infection rates, and implant failure rates leading to reduced time in hospital beds, less use of antibiotics, and fewer revision surgeries. Taken together, these benefits could improve survival rates, functionality and quality of life of bone cancer patients.”
Dr Lucas Souza will be supported by Professor Adrian Gardner, Director of Research and Development at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital and Professor of Clinical Orthopaedics at Aston University, as well as Mr Jonathan Stevenson, Orthopaedic Oncology and Arthroplasty Consultant. The project is also supported by collaborators Professor Richard Martin and Dr Eirini Theodosiou from Aston University and Professor Joao Lopes from the Brazilian Aeronautics Institute of Technology.