A study by Wei Liang’s group indicated that PEG-PE and doxorubicin selfassemble to form a novel nano-carrier, which improves the antitumor activity of doxorubicin and reduces its toxicity by enhancing the accumulation and penetration of doxorubicin in the cells located in the deep-layers of tumors. This was the first time that doxorubicin-loaded PEG-PE micelles were shown to selectively accumulate and penetrate in the deeper layers of tumor tissue to increase the intracellular drug concentration in the tumor. Thus they showed that doxorubicin loaded PEG-PE micelles greatly enhance the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin, inhibit tumor proliferation, prolong the survival time of tumor-bearing mice and reduce the drug’s systemic toxicity. This drug packaging technology may provide a new strategy for design of cancer therapies. Wei Liang’s group has submitted an application for an international patent for this technology. The J Natl Cancer Inst editorial comment on this work was, “This study is a simple but effective demonstration of the benefits of integration of a drug with an appropriate carrier to yield a striking gain in efficacy. May the days of pharmacologic missiles that miss their target and friendly fire that kills patients soon be over.”

This work was published on J NAT CANCER INST (2007,99(4):1004-1015).