Researchers study light and ultrasound therapy for melanoma treatment in pigs

Texas A&M University researchers are collaborating on a new project to study how ultrasound and light can treat melanoma in pigs.

Recent medical advances have made it possible to use light to shrink and kill cancer cells, a process called photodynamic therapy, but some types of cancer, such as melanoma, are Does not respond well to new treatments.

“Photodynamic therapy introduces chemicals that are absorbed by skin cancer cells. The chemicals only react when exposed to certain types of light, stimulating the formation of new molecules that destroy cancer cells. Dr. Wanderlei Bagnath said. Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

“Approximately 95% of non-melanoma skin cancer lesions can be removed using photodynamic therapy. It is very cost-effective and non-invasive,” Bagnert said. .

“However, treating melanoma with light-based therapy is problematic for several reasons. First, pigments in cancer cells can block light. Second, melanoma It is more likely than other skin cancers to regrow, metastasize, or spread to other parts of the skin, if not completely removed. ”

Developing a more effective way to treat melanoma using photodynamic therapy could open the door to low-cost, non-invasive treatments in pigs, humans, and other mammals.

“In addition to advances in human medicine, we hope that this project will bring photodynamic therapy to veterinary medicine. It can be applied not only to pigs but also to other species that develop melanoma. ,” said Dr. Jennifer Fridley, a clinical assistant professor at the university. Director of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and the Veterinary Medical Park in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Fight cancer with light and sound

Photodynamic therapy has recently become the main treatment for non-melanoma skin cancer due to its low cost and high efficacy.

“There are several ways to introduce therapeutic drugs into cancer, and recently we have started using microneedles,” Bagnert said. “They are actually made of the drug itself, so when it dissolves into the skin, nothing remains. The whole process is completed within an hour and does not require surgery.”

Skin cancer patients with diabetes may benefit from photodynamic therapy.

“Diabetes is very common in the United States, and it becomes even more common as we get older,” Bagnert said. “Diabetes impairs angiogenesis, or the flow of blood to the body’s tissues, so people with this condition should avoid surgery if possible. Photodynamic therapy is recommended if you have diabetes and skin cancer. It is a much safer treatment than surgery, with less chance of complications.

In the new study, Bagnert and research partners plan to test combinations of drugs, delivery mechanisms, and types of light to see which combinations are most effective.

They also plan to test another type of wavelength: ultrasound. This sonodynamic therapy is similar to photodynamic therapy, except it uses sound instead of light.

“When you insert certain drugs into cancer cells, the cancer cells become little reactors that, when hit by ultrasound, create little explosions,” Bagnert said. “We hope to combine both photodynamic and acoustodynamic therapy to more completely eliminate melanoma without the risk of regrowth or metastasis.

“We hope this study will form the basis for more specialized cancer research in pets and other animals at VMBS,” he said.

A legacy of ingenuity

For the new study, researchers used skin cells from a herd of pigs once owned by Dr. Duane Kramer, a now-retired VMBS senior professor who was instrumental in creating CC, the world’s first cloned cat. We plan to collect samples.

“The pigs in this study are the kind of pigs that tend to develop melanoma, but they are not actually affected by melanoma,” Fridley said. “In fact, their melanoma sometimes regresses on its own, which is one reason their study is important.

“When we’re not collecting samples from the pigs, they live a pretty spoiled life,” she says. “Dr. I am extremely proud to follow in his footsteps as a pioneer.” ”