Abstract 2160: Microfragmented human fat tissue is a natural scaffold for drug delivery: potential application in cancer chemotherapy

Localization of chemotherapy at the tumor site can improve therapeutic efficacy and reduce systemic toxicity. In previous studies we have shown that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) isolated from bone marrow or fat tissue, can be loaded with the anti-cancer drug Paclitaxel (PTX) and kill cancer cells when localized nearby. We here investigated the capacity of human micro-fragmented adipose tissue (MFAT), used as a natural container of MSCs, to delivery PTX with the idea to improve local drug concentration and to prolong the therapeutic activity. Surprisingly, we found that both fresh but also devitalized MFAT (DMFAT) (by freezing/thawing procedure) were very effective biomaterials able to deliver and release significant amount of PTX, killing several human cancer cell lines in vitro with an impressive long lasting activity. In an orthotopic mice model of Neuroblastoma (NB) transplant, we found that DMFAT loaded with PTX prevents or delay NB relapse when placed in the surgical area of tumor resection, without any collateral toxicity. We concluded that MFAT, but also DMFAT, may work as natural biomaterials that can be used to localize and release anti-cancer molecules at the tumor site. In addition, the procedure to easily prepare DMFAT did not alter its natural scaffold structure. This suggest that such biomaterial may have a prominent role in the near future in many oncological applications to delivery anti-cancer drugs, helping to fight cancer in human. Citation Format: Giulio Alessandri, Valentina Cocce, Fabio Pastorino, Rita Paroni, Michele Deicas, Francesco Restelli, Carlo Tremolada, Angiola Berenzi, Eugenio Parati, Anna Teresa Brini, Giampietro Bondiolotti, Augusto Pessina, Mirco Ponzoni. Microfragmented human fat tissue is a natural scaffold for drug delivery: potential application in cancer chemotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2160.