Nanoengineered microneedle arrays for enhanced plasmonic photothermal therapy of basal cell carcinoma.

基底细胞癌（BCC）是英国最常见的癌症，在生命的某个阶段影响高达39%的人。BCC是由皮肤暴露于紫外线辐射引起的，因此通常会影响面部。BCC通常不是致命的，因为它不会转移到身体的其他部位。然而，它具有局部破坏性，如果不进行有效治疗，将侵入皮肤和下层组织，导致严重的毁容、疼痛、溃疡、神经损伤，并可能导致眼睛周围病变患者视力丧失。据估计，英国每年有5.3万例新确诊病例。目前治疗单个BCC病变的平均费用约为1000英镑。我们的人口老龄化和不断增加的紫外线辐射暴露表明BCC的发病率将继续增加，因此预计到2020年，NHS管理BCC的估计成本将上升到每年约9700万英镑。通过手术切除治疗基底细胞癌可治愈>95%的病例。然而，手术可能会导致难看的疤痕和持续的疼痛，影响患者的健康相关的生活质量和自尊。替代治疗方案不是特别有效，并且存在许多缺点。在这里，我们将研究一种基于含有微观无毒金颗粒的微小塑料针的新治疗方法。这些微针阵列将被设计成手动插入难以治疗的深部BCC肿瘤。在用一种特殊类型的红外光照射时，金颗粒会升温，这种热量会从微小的针头扩散到肿瘤中，使其温度升高到足以杀死癌细胞，但不会伤害周围的正常组织。含有金颗粒的微针将从皮肤上完整地移除，不会留下任何痕迹，皮肤将愈合而不会留下疤痕。这里开发的技术是独一无二的，可能会彻底改变最常见类型的皮肤癌的治疗。它提供了极大改善治疗的机会，对患者和NHS都有潜在的好处。最终，该技术的商业化将是英国工业、NHS和患者从中受益的主要途径。为了吸引潜在的工业或风险投资合作伙伴，展示这项技术的概念证明至关重要，这是本提案的首要目标。

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common cancer in the UK, affecting up to 39% of people at some stage in their lives. BCC is caused by skin exposure to ultraviolet radiation and, therefore, commonly affects the face. BCC is not typically fatal, as it does not metastasise to other parts of the body. However, it is locally destructive and, if not treated effectively, will invade through the skin and underlying tissues resulting in significant disfigurement, pain, ulceration, nerve damage and, potentially, loss of vision for patients with lesions around the eyes. It is estimated that 53,000 new cases are diagnosed in the UK each year. The mean cost to treat a single BCC lesion is currently around £1000. Our ageing population and ever-increasing exposure to ultraviolet radiation suggest that the incidence of BCC will continue to increase, so the estimated cost of management of BCC to the NHS is predicted to rise to around £97 million per year by 2020. Management of BCC by surgical excision can be curative in >95% of cases. However, surgery can cause unsightly scarring and ongoing pain, affecting patients' health-related-quality of life and self-esteem. Alternative treatment options are not particularly effective and are associated with numerous drawbacks.Here, we will investigate a novel treatment based on tiny plastic needles containing microscopic, non-toxic, gold particles. These microneedle arrays will be designed to be inserted by hand into difficult-to-treat deep BCC tumours. Upon illumination with a special type of infrared light, the gold particles will heat up and this heat will diffuse from the tiny needles into the tumour, increasing its temperature enough to kill the cancer cells, but leaving the surrounding normal tissue unharmed. The microneedles containing the gold particles will then be removed intact from the skin, leaving nothing behind and the skin will heal up without scarring.The technology developed here is unique and could potentially revolutionise treatment of the most common type of skin cancer. It offers the opportunity for dramatically improved treatment, with potential benefits for both patients and the NHS. Ultimately, commercialisation of the technology will be the primary route by which UK industry, the NHS and patients will derive benefits. In order to attract potential industrial or venture-funding partners, it is vitally important to demonstrate proof of concept for this technology, which is the over-arching aim of the present proposal.