Sonodynamic Therapy for Breast Cancer

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a noninvasive ultrasound-triggered therapeutic strategy for site-specific treatment of tumors with great depth penetration such as breast cancer. Alfa Cytology offers cutting-edge research services and essential platforms to help you stay ahead in the development of sonodynamic therapy for breast cancer.

Introduction to Sonodynamic Therapy

Solid tumor treatment relies heavily on chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgical resection, and/or immunotherapy. Although many alternative non-invasive solid tumor therapies have been proposed over the years and continue to be tested in various settings, eradication of tumor cells remains a difficult task for current cancer treatments. In recent years, sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has become an effective method for breast cancer treatment. SDT is a non-invasive anti-cancer treatment using chemical sonosensitizers and high-intensity focused ultrasound. It works by using concentrated, high-intensity ultrasound beams to destroy or denature target cancer tissue. Photosensitizers accumulate highly specifically in tumor cells, release energy and generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) when activated in the presence of oxygen, leading to cancer cell toxicity. Cancer cells are particularly dependent on antioxidants, which makes them particularly susceptible to excess ROS.

Fig.1 Mechanism of autophagy inhibition on SDT-mediated apoptosis of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. (Nowak KM, et al., 2022)

Our Services

Sonosensitizers have unique chemical and physical properties that are critical in determining their utility in certain applications. Traditional sonosensitizers are developed based on specific types of organic molecules and are divided into four major categories: porphyrins, phthalocyanines, xanthenes, and antitumor agents. The design, improvement and use of sonosensitizers are important aspects of sonodynamic therapy. Alfa Cytology can provide suitable sonosensitizers for the development of sonodynamic therapy for breast cancer, as well as help you develop new sonosensitizers.

SDT-Based Combination Therapy

• PDT combined with SDT
  SDT combined with PDT (SPDT) has a synergistic effect and can improve the therapeutic effect. In SPDT, agents with photochemical and sonochemical activity are applied and then activated with light and sound. This approach reduces sensitizer dosage and reduces total energy deposition, thus preventing potential negative effects.
• Antitumor drugs combined with SDT
  Hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether-mediated SDT alters NHE1 expression in temozolomide-resistant glioma cells, prevents cancer cell proliferation and invasion, and may resensitize cells to TMZ.
• Immunotherapy combined with SDT
  Anti-IDO and SDT treatment reduced tumor volume and lung metastasis and increased DC maturation and antigen-presenting capacity in tumor-draining lymph nodes. The anti-IDO-SDT combination is expected to promote anti-tumor immune responses in breast cancer.

Alfa Cytology is a world-leading preclinical CRO company dedicated to assisting scientists around the world in BC research. We can provide you with BC sonodynamic therapy development services and help in the development of therapies and diagnostics for BC. If you have any questions about BC research, please contact us and our experts will get back to you as soon as possible.