Nanomedicines to beat metastasis

Clinical impact: Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death (1.6 million deaths/year) and economic burden worldwide. About 85% of lung cancers are NSCLC. The high mortality of NSCLC is attributable to the fact that most tumors are usually detected at advanced stage. In addition, relapse is observed in 22-38% because of the presence of early disseminated disease that is nowadays undetectable.

METASTARG offers a novel sensitive and specific tool for tumor diagnostic and monitoring and also acts as a therapeutic option setting an important milestone in the management and prevention of metastasic disease.  METASTARG biodegradable nanoparticles, are specifically targeted to disseminated cancer cells for detection and specific treatment of occult micrometases. 

Socio-economic impact: The cost of cancer treatments suppose to the European health systems an average cost of 126 billion euros per year, and the specific cost of lung cancer 18.8 billion euros. Regarding NSCLC treatments, most of the costs are indirect and mainly related with the appearance of disseminated disease. 60% of the economic burden of cancer was incurred in non-health-care areas, with almost €43 billion in lost productivity attributable to early death.

The economic benefits of occult micrometastases detection and therapeutic targeting come from the ability to reduce the overall budget impact of the late treatment of metastasic and recurrent disease, reducing mortality and triggering long-term improvements to quality of life for patients. Nanoparticles could also contribute with costs reduction by eliminating ineffective treatments and reducing the number of hospitalizations that are often related with the evolution of metastasic disease.