TERANOBOTS. Diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer

Samuel Sánchez

IBEC, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, Spain

Bladder cancer is the 9th most common cancer in the world, being diagnosed in 550,000 patients and causing 200,000 deaths annually. Despite having good survival rates, bladder cancer relapse is very frequent, and because of the nature of the treatments and the techniques used in patient surveillance, bladder cancer is currently the most expensive malignancy to treat. The current treatment for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer involves transurethral tumor resection, followed by adjuvant intravesical therapy based on chemotherapeutic or immunotherapeutic drugs that can be maintained up to 3 years. However, due to their limitations, there is an urgent need for the development of novel therapies with better efficiencies and long-term responses.

TERANOBOTS is a patented technology based on urease-powered nanomotors that represents a novel strategy to reduce bladder cancer recurrence. Thanks to their enhanced mobility, the nanomotors can better penetrate cancer tissue and thus enhance treatment efficiency. Additionally, developed nanomotors are labelled in such a way that can be detected by means of imaging techniques such as Positron Emission Tomography- Computer Tomography (PEC-CT), thus improving the detection of tumor tissues and facilitating patient surveillance.

TERANOBOTS is a revolutionary tool that integrates diagnostics and therapy by means of self-propelled nanomotors carrying antibodies against bladder cancer cells.