Ultrasound microbubble targeted gemcitabine delivery for pancreatic cancer treatment

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is one of the most prevalent types of cancer. Studies have shown that PDA treatment with IV administration of gemcitabine (GEM) is inhibited by excessive interstitium and connective tissue (stroma) surrounding the tumor. Ultrasound (US) irradiation combined with drug-loaded polylactic acid (PLA) microbubble contrast agents (MB) may circumvent this through targeted delivery of GEM and increased permeability of the tumor stroma, while also lodging GEM-loaded fragments into the tumor tissue for sustained release. Thus, the objective of this study was to encapsulate GEM within the shell of PLA MBs and evaluate their treatment efficacy in an in vivo pancreatic cancer mouse model.