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Home > Press > Magnetic Nanoparticles Remove Ovarian Cancer Cells from the Abdominal Cavity

Abstract:
A major complicating factor in the treatment of ovarian cancer is that malignant cells are often shed into the patient's abdominal cavity. These cells can then spread to other tissues, seeding new tumors that make effective therapy difficult. To overcome this problem, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology created magnetic nanoparticles that can selectively bind to and remove ovarian tumor cells from abdominal cavity fluid. John F. McDonald led the research team that reported their work in the journal Nanomedicine.

Magnetic Nanoparticles Remove Ovarian Cancer Cells from the Abdominal Cavity

Bethesda, MD | Posted on July 19th, 2010

Research by other investigators had identified a protein known as EphA2 as a highly selective marker for free-floating ovarian cancer cells. Dr. McDonald and his collaborators coated magnetic cobalt-iron oxide nanoparticles with a molecular mimic of the natural ligand for this protein, a molecule known as ephrin-A1, to serve as a trap for ovarian cancer cells floating in ascites fluid, the liquid found in the intestinal cavity. The idea behind this approach is that the nanoparticles could be added to ascites fluid and then trapped with a magnetic, removing any ovarian cancer cells that had bound to the eprhin-A1 mimic.

They first tested their nanoparticles using ascites fluid from mice with human ovarian tumors and found that they could trap free-floating tumor cells using magnetic separation. They then repeated this experiment using ascites fluid obtained from four women with ovarian cancer, and again showed that they could remove all of the EphA2-positive cells from the intestinal fluid samples. The researchers suggest that these nanoparticles could be used in a system that removes ascites fluid from the intestinal cavity, using a relatively non-invasive method akin to dialysis, in conjunction with standard ovarian cancer therapy.

This work is detailed in a paper titled, "Selective removal of ovarian cancer cells from human ascites fluid using magnetic nanoparticles." An abstract of this paper is available at the journal's Web site.

View abstract www.nanomedjournal.com/article/S1549-9634(09)00255-X/abstract

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About NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer
To help meet the goal of reducing the burden of cancer, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, is engaged in efforts to harness the power of nanotechnology to radically change the way we diagnose, treat and prevent cancer.

The NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer is a comprehensive, systematized initiative encompassing the public and private sectors, designed to accelerate the application of the best capabilities of nanotechnology to cancer.

Currently, scientists are limited in their ability to turn promising molecular discoveries into benefits for cancer patients. Nanotechnology can provide the technical power and tools that will enable those developing new diagnostics, therapeutics, and preventives to keep pace with today’s explosion in knowledge.

For more information, please click here

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