Nano Drug Being Developed for Pancreatic Cancer Treatment

Nazar İleri Ercan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Boğaziçi University, is conducting research to develop a nanomedicine for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, which ranks second among causes of death worldwide. The research is supported by TÜBİTAK's 2247 National Leading Researchers Program. Nazar İleri Ercan, a young and talented Turkish scientist who was awarded under the "For Women in Science" program launched in 2020 by L'Oréal Turkey and UNESCO Turkey National Commission for her work on Rheumatoid Arthritis disease, is conducting a three-year nanomedicine research project supported by TÜBİTAK. The nanomedicine aims to combine methods such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy in a single structure to act effectively on the diseased area. Nazar İleri Ercan received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Department of Chemical Engineering at METU and completed her Ph.D. in the same field at University of California (USA) in 2010. Since 2016, she has been serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Boğaziçi University. Dr. Nazar İleri Ercan provided the following information about her new research:

"Five-Year Survival Rate Below 10 Percent"

Cancer is one of the most important diseases of our time and ranks second among causes of death worldwide. Among cancer types, pancreatic cancer, which has a five-year survival rate below 10 percent, is expected to surpass breast cancer, which currently ranks third in cancer-related deaths, in the near future. It is an extremely deadly form of cancer. The existing therapeutic methods are also limited. As a researcher, the thought that I might find a solution to this issue led me to this research.

Minimal Toxicity and Low Cost

When the disease is diagnosed in its early stages, the first preferred method is surgical removal of the tumor. However, because pancreatic cancer progresses very insidiously, it is usually detected at advanced stages. For this reason, surgical procedures, unfortunately, are limited to only 20 percent of patients. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are other methods used separately or, when feasible, together with surgical treatment. However, significant side effects on healthy cells, chemo-resistance and limited drug distribution greatly limit the effectiveness of these methods. In recent years, we are seeing developments where combination therapy using nanoformulations of different chemotherapy drugs has contributed to survival time. However, these and similar treatment protocols currently under investigation are still toxic, short-term and highly costly. Therefore, the search continues today for more effective drugs with minimal toxicity and low cost in the pursuit of permanent treatment. Unlike existing therapeutic methods, our project aims to combine methods such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy, whose individual effectiveness is known in the literature, in a single structure. For this, drug molecules derived from phytochemicals, which could be less toxic, will be used and developed, and computational models will be used to conduct research aimed at understanding how to increase the drug's effectiveness.

Targeted Treatment of Diseased Areas with Nanovesicles

The drug is a system that combines different working mechanisms. The cytotoxic drug combination with light-sensitive properties will be targeted to diseased areas using nanovesicles used in immunotherapy. This way, we aim to obtain a system that can be effective only on the diseased area and break the different resistance points of the disease.

Experiments Will Take Two Years

The experimental part of the research initially includes the synthesis and characterization of the nanomedicine and in vitro testing on various cells. This is approximately a 1.5-2 year process. With the data we obtain, we plan to proceed with preclinical animal experiments. This will also be approximately a 1-1.5 year process. We will support this experimental phase with computational studies to be conducted during the project period.