Cancer that metastasizes to the bones can be both deadly and painful. A new innovative drug is showing promise in addressing these issues by disrupting the interaction between tumors and nerves. This groundbreaking approach may lead to a much more comfortable cancer treatment journey.

According to William Fan from Harvard University, who was not part of the study, “This highlights a new and exciting paradigm in which a single cancer treatment can simultaneously improve mortality and quality of life.”

Research indicates that 65-80% of individuals with breast or prostate cancer ultimately develop bone cancer when the disease spreads. As these tumors progress, they irritate nearby pain-sensing nerves.

Standard treatments such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy are commonly utilized to shrink bone tumors. However, pain may still persist due to residual cancer cells interacting with nerves. Furthermore, conventional methods can harm healthy tissues and often require long-term use of painkillers, like opioids, risking addiction, as noted by Xian Jia Asia at Zhejiang University in China.

In response, Xian and colleagues have introduced a revolutionary “nanotherapy” comprising tiny fat capsules loaded with DNA that encodes gasdermin B, a protein designed to kill cancer cells selectively. This therapy targets cancer cells while sparing healthy ones, utilizing the characteristic higher levels of reactive oxygen species found in tumor cells. The nanocapsules additionally contain OPSA, which enhances the body’s inherent anti-cancer immune response.

To evaluate the efficacy of this novel drug, researchers injected breast cancer cells into the legs of various mice. Once bone tumors formed, the mice received either the full nanotherapy, a simpler version containing OPSA but lacking the gasdermin B gene, or a saline control. Treatments were administered into the tail every other day over five days.

After two weeks, tumors in the full nanotherapy group were on average 94% smaller than those in the control group, while the simpler form resulted in a 50% reduction. Furthermore, all mice treated with the complete nanotherapy survived, in contrast to merely 60% of those receiving the simpler therapy and 20% in the control group. This treatment effectively killed tumor cells and induced an anti-tumor immune response, Xiang reported.

Interestingly, both forms of the nanotherapy improved mobility in the affected limbs significantly more than the control, particularly in the full nanotherapy group, indicating potential pain relief from bone tumors. Tumor samples revealed a noticeable decrease in the density of nerve cells within the cancerous growths.

The mechanism appears to involve enhancing the cancer cells’ ability to absorb calcium ions, essential for nerve growth and pain signal transmission. “The concept is that cancer cells act like sponges for local calcium, reducing the availability of calcium for sensory neurons,” explains Professor Huang. Further studies are necessary to establish how nanotherapy adjusts calcium uptake in cancer cells, which may expose new avenues for targeting this critical pathway.

In preliminary findings, it was observed that nerves surrounding tumors could facilitate their growth, suggesting that nerve-related mechanisms could not only alleviate pain but also inhibit tumor proliferation, although specific impacts remain uncertain, according to Xiang.

These findings bolster the emerging perspective that targeting the nervous system may transform cancer treatment paradigms, states Huang. However, translating these treatments from mice to humans remains challenging due to differences in immune responses. Xiang aspires to initiate human clinical trials within five to ten years.