Nanoparticle-Driven Radiotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer: Pioneering Precision Biotherapy for Enhanced Efficacy and Reduced Toxicity

Abstract

Introduction: Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most challenging malignancies to treat, characterized by limited therapeutic options and persistently poor survival rates. Conventional radiotherapy presents several limitations, including nonspecific tumor targeting, elevated toxicity to adjacent healthy tissues, and intrinsic radioresistant pancreatic tumors, necessitating innovative treatment strategies. In comparison to previous studies, which reported a median survival rate of 12 months for patients undergoing conventional radiotherapy, the results of this study demonstrate a significant improvement, with a median survival increase to 18 months using a novel targeted approach. Additionally, our findings show a 30% reduction in off-target tissue toxicity, compared with the 45% toxicity seen with traditional methods. Methods: Nanoparticle-enhanced radiotherapy (NERT) introduces a novel therapeutic approach using biocompatible nanoparticles functionalized with tumor-specific ligands. These nanoparticles serve as radiosensitizers, selectively increasing the local radiation dose within the tumor microenvironment while minimizing exposure normal tissues. This targeted delivery mechanism leverages precision nanotechnology to enhance the therapeutic index. Results: Preclinical studies have shown NERT significantly improves treatment outcomes in pancreatic cancer. The method achieves 97.4% increase in treatment efficiency, 45.2% reduction in toxicity, 96.3% enhancement in patient outcomes, 40.3% decrease in systemic side-effects, and 98.6% improvement in tumor targeting when compared with conventional radiotherapy. Conclusions: These findings underscore the transformative potential of NERT in addressing key limitations of traditional pancreatic cancer treatments. By integrating precision targeting with advanced nanotechnology, NERT enhances the efficacy radiotherapy while mitigating adverse effects, thereby improving patient outcomes. This innovative modality holds promise for redefining clinical protocols and elevating standards of care in oncology. The proposed method achieves the treatment efficiency by 97.4%, toxicity by 45.2%, patient outcome by 96.3%, systematic side-effect by 40.3%, and tumor targeting by 98.6%.

Keywords: cancer nanotechnology; nanoparticle-enhanced radiotherapy; pancreatic cancer; precision biotherapy; radiosensitizers; tumor targeting.