A new Israeli study has succeeded in leading for the first time in the world of medicine to the development of a biodegradable marker in favor of a mammogram. After a marker was developed from natural and familiar materials, an animal experiment was conducted, the results of which were promising - the toxicity of the substance was ruled out, and it disappeared from the animal body within a few months. A scientific paper on the study was published in the journal ACS applied biomaterials. The Hebrew University patented the technology
During the mammography examination process, when cancerous tissue is detected, a biopsy of the same tissue is performed, and the tissue is sometimes left for follow-up for several months to make sure that no tumors are developing. To mark the suspicious tissue in favor of the medical treatment, a metal marker about 5 mm is injected into the subject's breast, which remains in the breast for the entire life of the subject. Prof. Zehava Glimidi, head of the mammography service at Rambam Hospital, was troubled by this. Many women refuse to accept the metallic marker that usually remains in a woman's body until her death, so she turned to Prof. Avi Domb, head of the School of Pharmacy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, to develop a biodegradable marker that would disappear from the body after the tests and months of medical follow-up.
According to Prof. Domb, "A woman who undergoes a mammogram is forced to remain with a metallic marker on her body for the rest of her life, and often more than one marker if there are several foci suspected of cancer in her body. The fear of those women using the same inexhaustible markers is understandable Was to try and think about how to alleviate the distress of those women, to create markers that are perishable, polymers or organic materials, that might match the imaging systems used to perform a mammogram.By the way, metallic components can move in and out of the body over the years in unwanted ways, so I also understand that it is better not to stay with the same metals in the body for a long time. "
According to the study, which is funded by the Fireplace Innovation Program, a biodegradable marker has been developed for the first time that can be viewed on conventional imaging devices, including MRI, ultrasound, and CT. Prof. Domb and his team at the Hebrew University used approved materials for use in the human body, because the development of a product from new materials requires more approvals before the experiments begin. It was therefore decided to use tiny poles of biodegradable polymers that are commonly used in the medical world that have been implanted in animals and observed for over three months. Polymers have been added to commonly used contrast agents such as barium sulfate and iodixanol. The results of the study were promising and the marker was detected using the three imaging systems, CT, MRI and ultrasound, even three months after the transplant and the marker's depletion process took place over time, until it disappeared.
Examination of the tissues in which the tiny rods were implanted revealed no signs of systemic toxicity in the animals. According to the results, the materials developed could be a potential substitute for metal-based markers, "read an article detailing the scientific experiment, published in the journal ACS applied biomaterials, quoted in the Journal of the American Chemicals Association. . In addition to using mammography, the biodegradable marker can mark tissues that need to be dissected or tissues that need to be monitored for changes.
During the mammography examination process, when cancerous tissue is detected, a biopsy of the same tissue is performed, and the tissue is sometimes left for follow-up for several months to make sure that no tumors are developing. To mark the suspicious tissue in favor of the medical treatment, a metal marker about 5 mm is injected into the subject's breast, which remains in the breast for the entire life of the subject. Prof. Zehava Glimidi, head of the mammography service at Rambam Hospital, was troubled by this. Many women refuse to accept the metallic marker that usually remains in a woman's body until her death, so she turned to Prof. Avi Domb, head of the School of Pharmacy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, to develop a biodegradable marker that would disappear from the body after the tests and months of medical follow-up.
According to Prof. Domb, "A woman who undergoes a mammogram is forced to remain with a metallic marker on her body for the rest of her life, and often more than one marker if there are several foci suspected of cancer in her body. The fear of those women using the same inexhaustible markers is understandable Was to try and think about how to alleviate the distress of those women, to create markers that are perishable, polymers or organic materials, that might match the imaging systems used to perform a mammogram.By the way, metallic components can move in and out of the body over the years in unwanted ways, so I also understand that it is better not to stay with the same metals in the body for a long time. "
According to the study, which is funded by the Fireplace Innovation Program, a biodegradable marker has been developed for the first time that can be viewed on conventional imaging devices, including MRI, ultrasound, and CT. Prof. Domb and his team at the Hebrew University used approved materials for use in the human body, because the development of a product from new materials requires more approvals before the experiments begin. It was therefore decided to use tiny poles of biodegradable polymers that are commonly used in the medical world that have been implanted in animals and observed for over three months. Polymers have been added to commonly used contrast agents such as barium sulfate and iodixanol. The results of the study were promising and the marker was detected using the three imaging systems, CT, MRI and ultrasound, even three months after the transplant and the marker's depletion process took place over time, until it disappeared.
Dr. Moran Haim Zeda from the Hebrew University, Prof. Zehava Galmidi from Rambam Medical Campus, Prof. Avraham Niska from Tel Aviv University, and Dr. Michal Schlesinger from the Technion also participated in this study.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has registered a patent for the latest technology and hopes to develop the product in the future with the help of investors. Until then, after performing the successful animal experiment, Prof. Domb is looking for a factor that would be interested in initially developing the product for the benefit of the clinical trial phase in humans, to test whether the product is able to fulfill its function and purpose in human tissues as well. "Hopefully there is a body that will agree to fund this and then the path to product development for public use will be shortened," the researcher clarifies.
Breast cancer is the most common malignant disease in Israel and in the Western world in general. About 5,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Israel each year. As the disease is diagnosed in the early stages, the chances of cure increase to about 90%, among other things by performing a mammogram on time. According to the Association for the War on Cancer, it seems that the number of women recovering from breast cancer is steadily increasing thanks to early detection and thanks to improved treatment methods and increased widespread awareness in the country.
To read the full article:
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsabm.0c00655
Media publications:
Channel 7 - https://www.inn.co.il/news/460096
Madnews: https://mednews.co.il/mammography-examination-with-a-biodegradable-marker/
Hayadan: https: //www.hayadan.org.il/%D7%A0%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%95%D ...
Mortek: https://news.mortech.co.il/2020/12/blog-post_11.html
Rinunim - https://www.rinunim.co.il/Article.php?CatID=&Page=&ArticleID=49090
Three who know, Kan news - https://www.kan.org.il/Podcast/item.aspx?pid=19108
https://www.israel365news.com/161883/jerusalem-researchers-develop-techn ..
