Most bladder cancer (BC) patients are diagnosed early. The standard treatment is to surgically remove the tumors, followed by intravesical immunotherapy (bacillus Calmette-Guerin) or intravesical chemotherapy (ITC) to eradicate any residual cancer cells. The current ITC are limited due to incomplete treatment, poor patient compliance, and high recurrence rate. In addition, clinicians are sometimes compelled to remove the kidney and ureter, even in the case of less aggressive cancers. Peptides are rapidly removed by renal clearance. This “shortcoming” can be advantageous when peptides are used as drug carriers for directing therapy to the urinary system. Our research focuses on developing a urinary drug-disposing platform to provide a more complete and effective treatment outcome. The advantages of such a delivery system include providing a continuous drug flow throughout the entire urinary system, prolonging treatment duration, all less invasively.
Related Publication: Bellat V., et al., A Urinary Drug-Disposing Approach as an Alternative to Intravesical Chemotherapy for Treating Nonmuscle Invasive Bladder Cancer, Cancer Research, 82(7):1409-22: 2022.