In a breakthrough study, researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a new way to deliver cancer-fighting drugs directly to lung tumors using tiny cellular “drones.”
These drones, called extracellular vesicles, are loaded with special molecules designed to stop cancer growth.
This new method could be a powerful solution against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common type of lung cancer affecting people who don’t smoke and a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.
Lung cancer is known to develop resistance to current drugs over time, making it hard to treat with existing medications.
Many drugs stop working as cancer cells mutate and develop defenses against them.
This creates an urgent need for safe, customizable therapies that work faster and more precisely.
The research team, led by Assistant Professor Minh Le from the Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM) and the Department of Pharmacology at NUS Medicine, aimed to find a targeted treatment to meet this need.
The team used tiny particles called extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are naturally released by cells like red blood cells, to act as carriers for cancer-fighting drugs.
In this case, they loaded the EVs with antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), which are specially designed molecules that can stick to specific parts of the cancer cell’s RNA, blocking the cancer’s ability to grow and spread.
These ASOs can be customized to target specific mutations found in each patient’s cancer cells, creating a personalized approach to treatment.
To make sure the drug reaches the right spot, the researchers added special molecules on the surface of the EVs that guide them directly to lung cancer cells, focusing on a protein called the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which often mutates in Asian patients with NSCLC.
Current treatments, like tyrosine kinase inhibitors, work by stopping mutant EGFR proteins, but cancer cells often find ways around these drugs, creating resistance.
The ASOs used in this study were specifically designed to target mutant EGFR, but they leave normal, healthy EGFR proteins untouched, which minimizes damage to non-cancerous cells.
This new delivery system showed strong cancer-fighting effects in several lung cancer models, including samples taken directly from patients. The ASO-loaded EVs successfully blocked the mutant EGFR, effectively targeting drug-resistant cancer cells without harming normal tissues. This precise targeting makes it a highly promising strategy in cancer treatment.
Associate Professor Tam Wai Leong, a co-author of the study from A*STAR in Singapore, said that using EVs as drug carriers is a powerful new approach.
It may pave the way for personalized cancer treatments that can overcome drug resistance—a significant hurdle in cancer therapy. Professor Goh Boon Cher, another author from CSI Singapore, added that this research is groundbreaking because it offers a way to deliver RNA-based treatments precisely to tumor cells, targeting their weak spots.
This study represents a major step forward in developing effective, individualized cancer treatments, bringing hope to patients facing drug-resistant cancers.
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