Control of breast cancer via anastrozole-loaded transbilosomes

Breast cancer (BC) represents a serious threat to public health worldwide, especially for women. Anastrozole (ATZ) is recognized as a therapeutic candidate for treating BC. However, its poor solubility and bioavailability result in low efficacy. This study set out to improve ATZ's ability to manage BC by developing a nasal spray formulation of ATZ-loaded transbilosome (ALT) that would increase ATZ's sustainability, bioavailability, targeting, and efficacy. Design Expert software was used to make different ALT formulations, and the optimum one was chosen. The optimal ALT formulation was then evaluated in vivo using an Ehrlich-induced BC mouse model to assess its efficacy, bioavailability, targeting, and safety. The optimized ALT formulation consists of phospholipid (271.62 mg), Span 60 (24.69 mg), and sodium deoxycholate (18.19 mg). Optimized ALT outperformed free ATZ by 77% in sustainability, 7.88 times in bioavailability, 11.62 times in permeation, and 5.52 times in targeting. Tumor volume, mortality rates, and levels of the biomarkers Ca-15-3 and Ca-27.29 were all significantly lower in the nasal ALT group compared to the disease group by 99.08%, 23.33%, 97.76%, and 98.73%, respectively. The nasal ALT formulation is considered safe because it did not adversely affect kidney or liver functions. In conclusion, the nasal ALT formulation shows potential as a therapy for managing BC.