A new approach involving drug delivery to cancerous breast tumors is proposed. The method involves the encapsulation of an anti-cancer agent (such as taxol [pacliataxel]) into artificial cholesterol complexes as novel delivery vehicles. These complexes resemble high density lipoproteins (good cholesterol carriers, HDL) and they markedly improve the solubility and transportability of otherwise poorly soluble drugs. The proposed studies include: Testing of the HDL/drug complexes against several breast tumor cells, by comparing their killing potential to that of the free drug and testing the efficacy of the HDL/drug preparation against breast tumors carried by mice (in vivo). Future studies would include clinical trials with appropriate formulations.
If successful, these studies will establish a new generation of chemotherapeutic agents against breast cancer and thus substantially enhance the quality of life and the survival of patients. Furthermore, the proposed formulation may provide an improved treatment modality for breast cancer as the encapsulated drug preparation is expected to have reduced toxicity against normal cells and tissues (particularly heart tissue). This approach has the potential to markedly improve the delivery of anticancer drugs to target tissues and thus improve the chemotherapy and may even provide a cure for breast cancer.