Speaker
Description
Intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy is a promising treatment for peritoneal carcinomatosis because it provides high local drug exposure to tumours within the abdominal cavity. However, its efficacy is limited by tumour microenvironmental barriers and rapid drug clearance from the peritoneal cavity. Nanosized drug carriers have attracted increasing interest because evidence suggests that they prolong peritoneal retention; however, their larger size also hinders tumour penetration. This trade-off creates a size dilemma in the design of nanocarriers. In addition, factors such as drug release rate and binding affinity may also contribute to improved therapeutic outcomes. Here, we present a mathematical model for a two-stage nanocarrier-based IP delivery system. Partial differential equations describe fluid flow and mass transport within the tumour and link nanoparticle retention, release kinetics, and drug binding affinity to the underlying transport mechanisms. Our results show that the two-stage system enhances tumour drug penetration and accumulation, consistent with experimental observations. The model also demonstrates a trade-off between retention time and tumour penetration across different nanoparticle sizes. In addition, it reveals that tuning the release rate and binding affinity can further improve overall treatment efficacy. This framework provides design insight for nanocarriers in IP chemotherapy and identifies when nanomedicine may improve treatment outcomes.
