Pharmaceutics & Novel Drug Delivery Systems

Biography

Biography: Fabienne Danhier

Abstract

Glioblastoma (GBM) are malignant brain tumors that arise from astrocytes. The annual global incidence of GBM is 6 per 100,000: each year. There is no accepted treatment to prevent recurrences of GBM, in particular from infiltrating cells at the border of resection. Therefore, this clinical situation is considered as an unmet medical need. Two types of hydrogels have been selected to fit the following clinically relevant requirements: injectability, biocompatibility, and very limited cell infiltration. First, polyethylene glycol-based copolymer hydrogels for the delivery of Temozolomide. Second, a specific formulation of lipid nanocapsules that presents adapted rheological properties to directly form a hydrogel for the delivery of Gembictabine. We have shown that hydrogels allow the sustained release of anticancer drugs, are well tolerated in vivo over one week and can significantly reduce the growth of subcutaneous U87MG tumor-bearing nude mice. Thus, these data support the hypothesis that hydrogel could be injected at the resection site and provide a sustained and local delivery of anticancer drugs-loaded nanomedicines that will enable GBM to be treated by maintaining a therapeutic concentration at the resection borders as well as ensuring a sustained diffusion in the surrounding tissue. These approaches provide different perspectives in the development of nanomedicine-loaded hydrogels in relation with the GBM recurrences.