Abstract 5535: Non-invasive cellular nano-permeabilization to enhance drug delivery and improve therapeutic outcome in solid tumors: Mitigating the path to destruction
Authors: Meena Augustus, Rajah Vijay Kumar
Journal: Cancer Research (2015)

Abstract Quantum Magnetic Resonance Therapy (QMRT) is a device-mediated, innovative therapeutic modality for cancer, currently in the clinical stage of development. This platform technology can also be used to deliver an electromagnetic force with strong, embedded, variable radio signals to induce Focused Resonance Nano-permeabilization (FORN) to selectively target multiple lesions in the whole body with parenteral or oral drugs used in standard of care cancer treatment. Transient permeabilization of cells by radiofrequency (RF) mediated pulses to target lesions allows drug(s) to be optimally internalized based on pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic parameters like drug molecular weight, peak plasma concentration of drug/active metabolite and drug wash out time. FORN has been used in a pilot study in a variety of solid tumors including treatment refractory pediatric medulloblastoma, recurrent adult glioblastoma, metastatic breast, ovarian, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and metastatic osteosarcoma, in patients who were administered protocol-driven chemotherapy under routine standard of care management. The combination of chemotherapy with FORN significantly reduced drug-induced cytotoxicity primarily associated with myelosuppression and other commonly encountered adverse effects during conventional treatment. Improved clinical benefit and efficacy was established using imaging criteria (MRI and or PET-CT based PERCIST 1.0 criteria), biomarker evaluation as well as a comparison of chemotherapy cycles that were previously administered without concurrent FORN. All solid tumors, irrespective of pathological sub-type or grade, can be resonated with customized, high, instantaneous magnetic fields and radio frequency (RF), followed by nano second signals which penetrate only resonating cells to induce cellular nanopermeabilization, non-invasively. This protocol allows for extremely accurate QMR dosing for therapeutic purposes. FORN can be achieved using a safe, non-ionizing extraneous RF and MR source to permeate tractable and intractable tumors by creating molecular dimension-specific transient pores in the cell membrane of tumor cells. Both large and small molecule (oral and parenteral) therapeutics can be safely targeted and delivered using FORN. It is known that electroporation of cultured cells potentiates cytotoxicity of various chemotherapy agents and other targeted molecules. This potentiation can be highly customized using FORN and the pharmacokinetics of any drug administered. FORN technology can potentiate antitumor effectiveness of drugs several fold and can be precisely localized and targeted without implanting any electrodes, probes or invasive nano-particles to deliver drug payloads. Citation Format: Meena Augustus, Rajah Vijay Kumar. Non-invasive cellular nano-permeabilization to enhance drug delivery and improve therapeutic outcome in solid tumors: Mitigating the path to destruction. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 5535. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-5535