Cancer-killing orthopaedic paste gets £110k grant

Made from gallium-doped bioglass, the paste could treat patients with primary and metastatic bone cancer. The material will be designed to be injected into bones following the removal of tumours, targeting residual cancer cells. 

Recent tests on the gallium bioglass by scientists at Aston University showed that it eliminated cancer cells in the lab with 99 per cent success and helped diseased bones to regenerate. The material also has antibacterial properties, preventing contamination around the surgical site.

“Advances in treatment of bone cancer have reached a plateau over the past 40 years, in part due to a lack of research studies into treatments and the complexity and challenges that come with treating bone tumours,” said research lead Dr Lucas Souza, research lab manager at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital’s Dubrowsky Lab.

“Innovative and effective therapeutic approaches are needed and this grant from Orthopaedic Research UK provides vital funds for us to continue our research into the use of gallium-doped bioglass in the treatment of bone cancer.”

According to the researchers, the paste could be a particularly useful tool where the full removal of tumours is not possible due to the proximity of organs or a lack of healthy tissue surrounding cancer cells. The treatment could also be an option in cases of benign but aggressive tumours and bone metastases where the harm inflicted by a major surgical procedure may be greater than its benefits.

“The proposed biomaterial has the potential to drastically improve treatment outcomes of bone tumour patients by reducing cancer re-occurrence, implant-site infection rates, and implant failure rates leading to reduced time in hospital beds, less use of antibiotics, and fewer revision surgeries,” said Dr Souza.

“Taken together, these benefits could improve survival rates, functionality and quality of life of bone cancer patients.”

Dr Souza will be supported by Professor Adrian Gardner, director of Research and Development at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital and Professor of Clinical Orthopaedics at Aston University, as well as Mr Jonathan Stevenson, Orthopaedic Oncology and Arthroplasty Consultant. The project is also supported by collaborators Professor Richard Martin and Dr Eirini Theodosiou from Aston University and Professor Joao Lopes from the Brazilian Aeronautics Institute of Technology.