Nanosized drug-eluting bead for transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (ND-TACE)

Commercially available drug-eluting embolization beads (100-500 μm) reduced the occurrence of adverse events related to an anticancer drug, but were unascertained to remarkably benefit the transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment of intermediate-stage liver cancer. Dextran-coated arsenite nanoparticles with the size ranging from 400 to 600 nm were developed as a nanosized drug-eluting bead (NDEB) for chemoembolization therapy of the rabbit VX2 liver tumor. We fully characterized their relevant physicochemistry and drug release properties. Their hemolysis was investigated before vessel embolization. The introduction of the NDEB allowed continuous embolization of tumor feeding vessels and sustained release of arsenic trioxide, thereby causing severe tumor necrosis and reduced vascularity. Sonography including B mode ultrasound, color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) were performed to evaluate the tumor vascularity and viability. Additionally, its hepatotoxicity was tolerable at a medium dose. NDEB-TACE might be an effective therapeutic strategy for interventional therapy.