Nanoparticle albumin-bound-paclitaxel: a limited improvement under the current therapeutic paradigm of pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab)-paclitaxel is paclitaxel linked to albumin nanoparticles, which makes it soluble and is an example of an application of nanotechnology for cancer treatment. The development of nanotechnology as a delivery system for nab-paclitaxel has improved the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of paclitaxel, in part by decreasing its hydrophobicity. Nab-paclitaxel in combination with gemcitabine has slightly improved survival in pancreatic cancer, compared to gemcitabine alone, as demonstrated in Phase III clinical trials. Cell cycle phase-specific drugs, such as nab-paclitaxel, which target cells in the G₂/M phase of the cell cycle, can only have limited efficacy since the vast majority of cells in a tumor are quiescent in G₀/G₁ phase. Recent advances in our laboratory on how to decoy cancer cells to cycle and then trap them in a sensitive phase of the cell cycle, can, in the hopefully near future, allow drugs such as nab-paclitaxel to have high efficacy, even in a treatment-resistant tumor such as pancreatic cancer.

Keywords:

• cell-cycle-specific drugs
• efficacy
• nanoparticle albumin-bound
• paclitaxel
• pancreatic cancer
• Salmonella typhimurium A1-R
• survival
• cell-cycle decoy
• tumor-targeting bacteria

Declaration of interest

The work related to this paper done in the authors' laboratory was supported in part by National Cancer Institute grant CA132791. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

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