Perioperative Nanotherapy for Ovarian Cancer

Project summary

This project focuses on mitigating the unwanted effects of surgery-induced peritoneal injury. Most ovarian cancer patients undergo surgical tumor removal at some point during the course of treatment. While this can be a life-saving intervention, the subsequent processes of post-surgical wound healing and inflammation often create an environment conducive to the reattachment of residual cancer cells to the surgical site. In addition, intensive inflammation after surgery can result in abdominal tissue adhesions, which frequently cause patient re-admissions.

The proposed project aims to evaluate the efficacy of different chemically engineered nanotraps in preventing postsurgical ovarian cancer cell attachment in a mouse model, which will pave the way for potential implementation in humans. By precise and controlled scavenging of the inflammatory molecules in the abdomen, we will be able to reduce ovarian cancer metastasis and abdominal tissue adhesions without interfering with the wound-healing process. We expect that the application of the nanotraps will hinder the engraftment of cancer cells, thereby extending their vulnerability to chemotherapy or immunotherapy. We expect that this strategy will also be effective in mitigating abdominal adhesions, thereby improving quality of life for ovarian cancer patients. We believe this could be applied to even non-cancer diseases like endometriosis.

This grant was made possible in part by a generous donation from Ovarian Cycle Tampa in loving memory of Franci Golman Rudolph and Suzanne Maloney.