Cancer therapies crisis in the USA

Nanoparticles of biodegradable polymers for new-concept chemotherapy

The current regimen of chemotherapy is far from satisfactory--its efficiency is limited and patients suffer from serious side effects. Various drug delivery devices have been under intensive investigation in the past few decades in attempts to develop controlled and targeted methods of chemotherapy administration. This article reviews the latest developments in nanoparticles of biodegradable polymers for chemotherapy of cancer and other diseases such as cardiovascular restenosis. The preliminary results obtained in the author's laboratory are used to demonstrate the concept. This review is written with the belief that engineering, in particular, chemical engineering principles, can be applied and further developed to solve the problems in the current practice of chemotherapy and promote a new concept of chemotherapy - chemotherapy at home.

New-concept chemotherapy by nanoparticles of biodegradable polymers: where are we now?

No substantial progress has really been observed during the past 50 years in fighting cancer, and the way we currently detect and treat cancer is similar to 30 years ago. Cancer nanotechnology will change the situation radically. Progress in developing nanoparticles of biodegradable polymers for new-concept chemotherapy is reviewed here by using the in vitro and in vivo experimental results obtained in my laboratory as a proof-of-concept demonstration. The prospects of using multifunctional nanoparticles for targeting, diagnosing, therapy delivery and result-reporting as a possible solution for cancer detection and treatment are also described. I believe that cancer will become curable using targeted and sustained chemotherapy by such nanoparticles at the earliest stage of disease. High efficacy and low side effects can be achieved, since high drug concentrations can be delivered selectively to the cancer cells, leaving healthy cells untouched. Thus, the required amount of the drug can be minimized.

90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan: Rationale for patient selection in the treatment of indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Radioimmunotherapy with 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin; Biogen Idec Inc, San Diego, CA, and Schering AG, Berlin, Germany) was approved in the United States in 2002 for patients with relapsed or refractory, low-grade, follicular, or transformed B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, including patients with rituximab-refractory disease, and in Europe in 2003. This agent has yielded good results in the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, for whom limited treatment options are available. Radioimmunotherapy with 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan is well tolerated and produces statistically and clinically significant higher overall and complete response rates than rituximab alone. Furthermore, treatment can be safely administered on an outpatient basis, with minimal disruption to patients' daily routines. The 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan treatment regimen, appropriate patient selection, and risk assessment are discussed in this article.