Ligand guided polymeric nano-carriers for targeted vaccine and drug delivery in cancer

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Cancer is expected to become the number one cause of death in Canada within the next five years. During thepast few decades, the puzzle on many molecular and cellular processes involved in cancer has been elucidated,but establishment of effective therapies for the eradication of cancer has lagged behind. Chemotherapy is stillthe treatment of choice for most advanced cancers. However, it is rarely curative and mostly becomesineffective by drug resistance. Moreover, emergence of intolerable toxicities by chemotherapeutic agentslowers the quality of life, significantly, in cancer patients. Immunotherapy is the more recent andunconventional form therapy for cancer, which is also rarely curative. Recent research has provided a strongcase for the potential benefit of combined immuno and chemotherapy in the eradication of cancer. Theobjective of this proposal is to design smart vaccine and drug delivery systems that can enhance the efficacyand reduce the toxicity of immuno and chemotherapy in cancer patients and eventually lead to the eradicationof this growing disease. In this context, smart biomaterials guided by specific ligands for targeted anticancerdrug delivery to cancer cells and enhanced antigen delivery to dendritic cells will be developed.