Nanoparticle for overcoming leukemia treatment resistance

Date posted
Funding Agency
(Funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health)

One of the largest problems with cancer treatment is the development of resistance to anticancer therapies. A research team has found that a commonly used chemotherapy drug may be repurposed as a treatment for resurgent or chemotherapy-resistant leukemia. The researchers developed a nanoparticle that allowed doxorubicin, a commonly used chemotherapy drug, to be injected safely and released sustainably over time.  Because of its rate of drug release, the patented nanoparticle was more effective than both a solution of the pure drug and the only commercially available version of a nanoparticle carrying doxorubicin.