Microneedles and Immunotherapy

In my ongoing quest to provide to you, my readers, interesting news about skin cancer treatments, I found a very recent article that describes efforts by researchers to develop a patch of microneedles that would deliver immunotherapy nanoparticles directly into melanoma lesions.

In a previous series of posts, I wrote about an article that discusses how immunotherapy might be a game changer in terms of fighting melanoma, once researchers figure out the appropriate way to use the body’s own immune system to combat skin cancer. Previous immunotherapy treatments have sometimes triggered autoimmune reactions that can be pretty serious (i.e. type 1 diabetes). But the cool thing about this particular approach is that the nanoparticles are delivered directly into the cancer – sort of like using a muscle cream directly on a pulled muscle rather than taking an ibuprofen that will deliver the medication to not only your sore shoulder but parts of your body that don’t really need it.

Obviously, this approach is new and there likely will need to be lots of trials and testing before it’s even proven as a treatment option. But because melanoma can evolve in ways to avoid the body’s immune system, any treatment that might short-circuit that capability is something that could lead to a “cure”. And that’s definitely something I would love to see in my lifetime.