New cancer treatment inspired by latte foam, gummy bears

Researchers at the University of Iowa are developing novel, biocompatible materials that could enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer.

These materials were inspired by the foam on top of lattes, as well as gummy bears and Pop Rocks sweets.

The new materials are known as gas-entrapping materials, or GeMs, which can be formulated as foams, solids, or hydrogels, and are designed to carry high concentrations of a variety of therapeutic gases directly into tissues, including tumors.

In a new study, published Feb 2 in the journal Advanced Science, researchers led by James Byrne, MD, PhD, and Jianling Bi, PhD, at the UI, used GeMs to deliver high levels of oxygen directly into tumors.

The study showed that this improved the effectiveness of standard chemotherapy and radiation treatments in mouse models of prostate cancer and a type of sarcoma.

In addition to Byrne, Bi and their colleagues at the UI, the study was a multi-institutional effort involving researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Harvard Medical School.

The new study shows that GeMs can significantly increase oxygen levels within solid tumors and render the cancer cells more vulnerable to radiation or chemotherapy.

The increased oxygen levels also appeared to improve immune reactivity, which is key to generating a response to immunotherapy.

The foam GeMs, for example, are created using a whipping siphon essentially the same device baristas use to make foams on hot chocolate and frozen coffee drinks but reverse-engineered to accept various gases, including oxygen.

The lab's whipping siphons use safe, low-cost components found in many processed foods to make the GeMs. By varying the quantity of each component, the researchers can control the release of oxygen from the material.

Because the GeMs are manufactured with safe and edible components, Byrne notes that the translatability of these materials for cancer care is likely to be extremely high.

Another advantage is the ability to implant or inject GeMs directly into the tumor.

Intratumoral delivery of cancer therapies is an approach that has blossomed over the past decade due to the ability to achieve high concentrations of drugs inside the tumor with low side effects.

The foams, in particular, can be injected into areas of the tumor that are harder to treat or remove by surgery.