Injectable nanomedicine hydrogel for local chemotherapy of glioblastoma after surgical resection

Glioblastoma (GBM) treatment includes, when possible, surgical resection of the tumor followed by radiotherapy and oral chemotherapy with temozolomide, however recurrences quickly develop around the resection cavity borders leading to patient death. We hypothesize that the local delivery of Lauroyl-gemcitabine lipid nanocapsule based hydrogel (GemC₁₂-LNC) in the tumor resection cavity of GBM is a promising strategy as it would allow to bypass the blood brain barrier, thus reaching high local concentrations of the drug. The cytotoxicity and internalization pathways of GemC₁₂-LNC were studied on different GBM cell lines (U251, T98-G, 9L-LacZ, U-87 MG). The GemC₁₂-LNC hydrogel was well tolerated when injected in mouse brain. In an orthotopic xenograft model, after intratumoral administration, GemC₁₂-LNC significantly increased mice survival compared to the controls. Moreover, its ability to delay tumor recurrences was demonstrated after perisurgical administration in the GBM resection cavity. In conclusion, we demonstrate that GemC₁₂-LNC hydrogel could be considered as a promising tool for the post-resection management of GBM, prior to the standard of care chemo-radiation.