Researchers design implant that fights ovarian cancer from the inside

Image :Dr Aoibhín Sheedy, PhD graduate with CÚRAM at University of Galway.

Researchers have developed an implant that could deliver next generation therapies for ovarian cancer precisely where it is needed while simultaneously monitoring how the disease responds.

The project was carried out by a team at CÚRAM, the Research Ireland Centre for Medical Devices based at University of Galway, along with the collaborators from the University of Minnesota, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Wyss Institute.

New implant to fight ovarian cancer from the inside

The research has been set out in the scientific journal Device. It showed how the team developed a flexible, porous implant which is designed to sit inside the peritoneal cavity – the space surrounding the abdominal organs in a woman’s body where ovarian cancer predominantly occurs. The device is designed to connect to an external port through the skin, so it can be replenished with therapeutic agents as often as needed, without requiring further surgery.

Dr Aoibhín Sheedy, PhD graduate with CÚRAM at University of Galway and lead researcher on the project, said: “One of the most frustrating aspects of treating ovarian cancer is that we know localised delivery of therapy works better, but the tools we’ve had until now weren’t built for the job. We designed this implant with ovarian cancer patients in mind. We wanted an implant that can deliver living cell therapies repeatedly, reliably, and with real precision to the tumour site.”

Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed at late stages, as symptoms such as bloating, pain and pelvic pressure are non-specific and can be overlooked. Treatment often involves surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, but currently targeted treatment and effective methods of detecting reoccurrence of the disease are impossible. There is a critical need for new therapeutic approaches for ovarian cancer.

The implant is made from a flexible biomaterial that conforms naturally to the body’s internal contours, its porous membrane allows therapeutic cargo to diffuse gently and evenly into the surrounding tissue, reducing the risk of mechanical complications.

In preclinical studies, the implant remained fully functional for up to 70 days with zero implant-related complications and showed significantly greater control of the tumour over time, compared to conventional treatments. The team have designed this implant to deliver living cell therapies, the most challenging type of therapy to delivery, but it could be used to deliver a range of cell or non-cell based therapies.

Dr Martin Felices, co-senior author Associate Professor in Medicine at the University of Minnesota, said: “The tricky part about working with novel therapies, such as immunotherapies, in the setting of ovarian cancer is that repeated delivery is done with outdated materials that are not designed for this setting. It is also very difficult to sample through these systems. The delivery system, created by Dr Dolan’s laboratory, allows for safer repeated delivery of cellular and biologic therapies in the context of the peritoneal cavity. It also allows us to sample the effects of those therapies in the tumour microenvironment in real-time, which is extremely exciting.”

A key feature of the implant is its monitoring capability. By applying gentle suction through the same external port, a sample of fluid can be drawn from inside the peritoneal cavity during treatment, without any additional procedure.

Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering at University of Galway Dr Eimear Dolan, and co-lead on the research, said: “What excites us most is the two-way nature of this approach. It doesn’t just deliver living cell therapies, it lets us create a picture of what’s happening inside the peritoneal space. Clinicians could use this to track how the immune cells are performing, whether the tumour is responding, and then adapt treatment accordingly. That kind of real-time intelligence is something we’ve never had access to before in this setting.”

The researchers envision that the implant would be put in place during initial surgery that patients undergo to remove as much tumour tissue as possible, allowing it to then address any residual disease in the weeks and months that follow. The ultimate aim would be to leave the implant in long-term, to allow for local monitoring of disease recurrence and early retreatment if required.

Professor Melissa Gellar, Professor of Gynecologic Oncology and Associate Director of the Clinical Research Masonic Cancer Centre at the University of Minnesota and co-lead on the research, said: “This work represents a shift in how we think about treating ovarian cancer, bringing therapy directly to the disease site while simultaneously learning from the tumour microenvironment in real time which provides important insight to guide precision care.”

The research also highlights the exciting possibilities of cross disciplinary research and while further studies are needed before this approach reaches clinical trials, the team of engineers and clinicians believe its versatile design could ultimately benefit patients with other peritoneal cancers, including gastric, colorectal, and pancreatic disease.

The full paper is available at https://www.cell.com/device/fulltext/S2666-9986(26)00002-5

Dr Eimear Dolan, in collaboration with Professor Melissa Gellar, is now exploring the translatability and commercial opportunity of this technology through the ARC Hub for HealthTech, a research initiative that is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and European Union via the ERDF Northern & Western Regional Programme 2021-2027, and hosted by University of Galway, in partnership with Atlantic Technological University (ATU) and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dr Dolan is also a Thematic Lead at the ARC Hub, with a focus on FemTech, as well as Smart Implants.

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Established in 1845, University of Galway is one of the top 2% of universities in the world. We are a bilingual university, comprised of four colleges, 18 schools and six research institutes, with over 20,000 students, including around 3,000 international students. We have been accredited with an Athena SWAN Institutional Silver Award, and 14 out of our 18 schools hold individual Athena SWAN Awards. We have more than 2,500 staff, and research collaborations with 5,300 international institutions in 181 countries. Our innovative academics and researchers have created 23 new spin-outs 199 new inventions since 2020. We have almost 140,000 alumni and 98% of graduates are in employment or further study within six months.

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