From Bench to Bedside—An Example of an In Situ Hydrogel in In Vivo Applications - In-Situ Gelling Polymers: For Biomedical Applications - page 217

3.2 Pig Model Studies
3.2.1 Pancreatic Cancer
Patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer often suffer from local complications such
as pain and biliary or intestinal obstruction. Though chemotherapy and radiation
are the common treatments administered, the prognosis of the patients still remains
poor. With the development of better drug delivery systems, sustainable release of
chemotherapeutic drugs is possible. However, local delivery of drugs requires an
easily accessible tumor where the drug can be placed. While superficial tumors of
the skin, breasts, and cervical cancers provide an easy injection site, solid, deep
seated tumors require specialized equipment for accurate placement of Oncogel. The
feasibility of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) a guided injection of Oncogel was evalu-
ated in the porcine pig model. Oncogel was successfully injected into the tail of the
pancreas using the EUS-guided fine needle [ 19 ] (Fig. 3 ). The procedure was also
well tolerated and the blood samples indicated no presence of pancreatitis.
The gross and histological examination revealed a stable depot of Oncogel™
(Fig. 4 ), with no report of its extravasation out of the pancreas. The animals upon
Fig. 3 Oncogel depot
detected by ultrasound.
Reproduced from Linghu
et al. [ 19 ]
Fig. 4 Macroscopic view
of the Oncogel depot.
Reproduced from Linghu
et al. [ 19 ]