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A newly developed injectable hydrogel has been designed to enhance the delivery and efficacy of immunotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer, offering a potential breakthrough in treatment strategies.
This development is significant as it represents a promising advancement in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, a particularly challenging type of cancer due to its aggressive nature and limited treatment options.
The study reveals an innovative approach to treating triple-negative breast cancer using a supramolecular hydrogel that co-loads abemaciclib and NLG919. This hydrogel enhances immunotherapy by providing localized and sustained drug delivery, increasing the effectiveness of treatment while minimizing side effects. After injection, the hydrogel remains at the tumor site for at least seven days, ensuring prolonged exposure of cancer cells to therapeutic agents and activating immune responses crucial for combating cancer recurrence and metastasis. The approach reduces toxicity associated with systemic drug exposure, providing a significant advantage over traditional methods.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains one of the most challenging forms of breast cancer to treat, primarily due to its aggressive nature and lack of targeted therapies. Traditional immunotherapies, when used as neoadjuvant treatments, have faced issues with systemic toxicity and suboptimal tumor targeting.
Current therapies often result in systemic exposure that can cause significant adverse effects, including lymphopenia and hepatic toxicity. This often limits the amount of drug that can be administered effectively.
"Our work aims to overcome these challenges by improving drug localization at the tumor site, thus enhancing efficacy and minimizing side effects," said Li Yaping.
The innovative hydrogel is composed of cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor Abemaciclib (Abe)-loaded peptide-NLG919 prodrug nanofibers, which allows for a targeted and sustained release approach.
This hydrogel is injected directly into the tumor site, where it remains for at least seven days. This localized presence acts as a reservoir, maintaining high drug concentrations specifically in the target area.
"This design allows for sustained drug release, effectively maintaining therapeutic concentrations within the tumor environment," explains Zhang Pengcheng.
The implications of this study are significant, as the injectable hydrogel platform could potentially be adapted to include other drugs, achieving synergistic effects in treating various cancers.
With the sustained release of abemaciclib and the inhibition of immunosuppressive pathways, this method could lead to prolonged remission periods and decreased recurrence rates for TNBC patients.
"These results open new avenues for cancer treatment, particularly in enhancing the efficacy of existing immunotherapies," noted Binyu Zhu, lead researcher of the study.
Zhu, B. et al. Injectable supramolecular hydrogel co-loading abemaciclib/NLG919 for neoadjuvant immunotherapy of triple-negative breast cancer. Nature Communications 14, 123-134 (2025).
Jia, L. Injectable supramolecular hydrogel shows promise for neoadjuvant immunotherapy of triple-negative breast cancer. Medical Xpress (2025). Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.