Fine-tuning lung cancer nanotherapy using closed cardiopulmonary circulation

Statement of Purpose: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths and efficient therapies remain elusive. One emerging approach is to use nanoparticles (NPs) that are designed to specifically target malignant cells (1). Such targeting increases on-site drug doses and reduces systemic side effects. A common target in lung tumors is epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Here, we explored the targeting efficacy of EGFR-targeted mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN GE11 ) for lung cancer treatment. Though specifically taken up by cancer cells in vitro, when administered intravenously or intratracheally in lung cancer mouse models, the NPs could not reach the depths of solid tumors and often strayed away from their target. This raises concerns whether NPs are suitable for therapeutically targeting lung tumors and challenges translational value of current approaches. To circumvent physiological barriers of solid lung tumors and consequent systemic clearance of NPs, we extended our analysis to a treatment strategy where the NPs are administered intravenously in a closed cardiopulmonary (CP) circulation loop. This approach not only makes the therapy more local, but also eliminates confounding factors for NP delivery such as liver/spleen deposition of NPs in vivo.