Combination therapy of TGF-beta inhibitor and anticancer nanocarriers

We have recently found that an application of TGF-beta type I receptor (TbetaR-I) inhibitor at a low dose together with anticancer nanocarriers (e.g. micelle-adriamycin) dramatically reduce the growth of several experimental intractable solid tumors, including pancreatic adenocarcinoma and diffuse-type gastric cancer (Kano et al. PNAS 2007). TbetaR-I inhibitor decreased pericyte coverage of the endothelium specifically in tumor neovasculature and promoted accumulation of nanocarriers in the tumors. In this project, we will study the accumulation of various nanocarriers into tumors in the presence of TbetaR-I inhibitor. We also study the effects of the micelle-adriamycin and TbetaR-I inhibitor combination therapy on cancers other than pancreatic adenocarcinoma and diffuse-type gastric cancer.