Originally published 8/9/2015
Research has continued steadily since we posted the blog below in 2015. Now, eight years down the road, even more ways have been identified to use nanoparticles for prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis and treatment.
For example, radio-labeled nanoparticle contrast agents (CAs) can be used with PET/MRI scans to “light up” very small areas of PCa metastasis. “In addition, CAs can be simultaneously delivered with drugs or, in general, therapeutic agents gathering a dual diagnostic and therapeutic effect in order to perform cancer diagnosis and treatment simultaneous.”[i]
Garg, et al. (2020) point out that “ … nanotechnology can significantly increase the management operation of prostate cancer by using specific physical and chemical properties, targeting techniques, or anchoring with imaging/pharmacological substances to provide innovative theranostics devices.”[ii]
The majority of research points to PSMA (prostate-specific membrane antigen) as the most useful cell marker for targeting individual PCa cells with nanoparticle delivery systems.
The benefits of nanoparticle use include avoiding the harsh, toxic side effects of chemotherapy that affects off-target healthy as well as malignant cells, and the ability to individualize treatment for each patient’s PCa.
Yari, et al. (2020) sum it up nicely: “Delivery of therapeutic or diagnostic agents by using targeted nanoparticles is a promising strategy to enhance accuracy and sensitivity of diagnosis of PCa and to increase efficacy and specificity of therapeutic agents.”[iii]
I remember playing with a toy called Wooly Willy. (You can look it up on Wikipedia, which says it was still in production in 2010.) You use a magnetic wand to capture tiny black iron shavings, and deposit them on the picture of a bald man. You can make hair, eyebrows, sideburns, moustache, beard—or just make him look weird and funny which is greatly amusing to a 5-year old boy! Today’s kids are computer-savvy and can pretty much do the same on a computer screen using a mouse and a simple art program. Still, it was very cool to move those iron shavings around as you controlled the magnet to create images.
Imagine if the metal shavings were reduced to very, very small fragments (nanoparticles) that could be used as an imaging contrast agent to help detect and even treat disease. Magnetic resonance imaging is obviously sensitive to magnetized substances, and a particular form of iron, an iron oxide called magnetite, is now being used to produce such particles. When they are coated with special polymers, the result is a fine powder that can be blended with liquid and injected into the body. Certain types of healthy cells take up the particles (which “light up” on imaging) whereas cancer cells do not. On MRI scans, the presence and absence of image enhancement distinguishes the cancer cells from healthy cells. See my article at https://sperlingprostatecenter.com/nanoparticle-enhanced-mri-detects-lymph-node-metastasis-of-prostate-cancer/ for more details.
Such nanoparticles derived from iron and other metals are already being used or tested in the lab or clinical trials for imaging prostate cancer that has spread to lymph nodes, tumors of the brain and other organs, and for diagnosing infection and inflammation. Also, studies on killing cancer by infusing neighbor cells with such nanoparticles and then exposing the area to near-infrared laser (which heats the nanoparticles to lethal temperatures, called photothermal therapy) are under way. I foresee many practical applications of iron and other metal nanoparticles in medicine.
The history of medicine is full of evolutionary examples from an early precursor to a safe and effective technology. While I’m not suggesting that Wooly Willy was such a precursor, it shows how far we’ve come from a simply children’s toy to the movement of magnetized nanoparticles for creating images in the human body that can only add to our diagnostic and treatment resources.
NOTE: This content is solely for purposes of information and does not substitute for diagnostic or medical advice. Talk to your doctor if you are experiencing pelvic pain, or have any other health concerns or questions of a personal medical nature.
[i] Forte E, Fiorenza D, Torino E, Costagliola di Polidoro A, Cavaliere C, Netti PA, Salvatore M, Aiello M. Radiolabeled PET/MRI Nanoparticles for Tumor Imaging. J Clin Med. 2019 Dec 29;9(1):89.
[ii] Garg A et al. “Nanoparticles and Prostate Cancer.” In Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Strategies For the Treatment of Cancer, ed. Yadav A et al. Academic Press, 2020. https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780128197936/nano-drug-delivery-strategies-for-the-treatment-of-cancers
[iii] Yari H, Gali H, Awasthi V. Nanoparticles for Targeting of Prostate Cancer. Curr Pharm Des. 2020;26(42):5393-5413.
About Dr. Dan Sperling
Dan Sperling, MD, DABR, is a board certified radiologist who is globally recognized as a leader in multiparametric MRI for the detection and diagnosis of a range of disease conditions. As Medical Director of the Sperling Prostate Center, Sperling Medical Group and Sperling Neurosurgery Associates, he and his team are on the leading edge of significant change in medical practice. He is the co-author of the new patient book Redefining Prostate Cancer, and is a contributing author on over 25 published studies. For more information, contact the Sperling Prostate Center.
