Aerosol chemotherapy trialled in Melbourne
A promising new form of aerosol chemotherapy that slows down cancer growth and could even shrink tumours is offering fresh hope to cancer patients.
VIC News
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New “spray-on” chemotherapy being tested in Melbourne is giving fresh hope to cancer patients.
The therapy administers cancer-fighting drugs directly to the tumour site using an aerosol spray instead of being injected into the bloodstream.
It slows down cancer growth and could even shrink tumours and there are also far fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy.
Epworth HealthCare and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre are testing the chemotherapy spray.
It’s also being trialled at Adelaide’s The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and is set to be rolled out in Sydney soon.
Epworth HealthCare surgeon Associate Professor Craig Lynch told the Sunday Herald Sun: “The reason it works is because it’s aerosol. It’s like spraying an air freshener into a room — it all goes all over the room.
“Because it goes in under pressure it soaks into the tumour nodule and that’s why it has a significant effect.
“It can slow down cancer growth.”
The treatment, called Pressurised Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy, was developed in Germany and used in hospitals across Europe and the UK.
It is new to Australia.
The Epworth trial — funded through the Epworth Medical Foundation — involved patients with peritoneal cancer from bowel cancer who had not responded to traditional chemotherapy.
Participants received three rounds of aerosol chemotherapy, which was administered during laparoscopic surgery under anaesthetic six weeks apart.
Assoc Prof Lynch said aerosol chemotherapy was most relevant for gastric and colorectal tumours — and stressed that it was a palliative treatment and not a cure for peritoneal cancer.
It provided another option for patients with fewer side effects than intravenous chemotherapy which often led to nausea, vomiting and hair loss.
“Because we give it laparoscopically, we are giving it directly to the tumour and it’s having a local effect as opposed to giving it intravenously, which affects the whole body and makes people sicker,” Assoc Prof Lynch said.
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It was also possible the aerosol treatment could shrink tumours, allowing surgery to reduce the burden of cancer disease and extend life.
“Globally, it is showing promise in this area,” Assoc Prof Lynch said.
“But mostly it is a good option compared to long-term palliative chemo.
“People have a better quality of life with similar control of the disease.”