Uveal Melanoma: A European Network to Face the Many Challenges of a Rare Cancer

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most frequent primary ocular cancer in adults, accounting for 5% of all melanomas. Despite effective treatments for the primary tumour, up to 50% of UM patients will develop metastasis, leading to a very poor prognosis and a median overall survival of 6 to 12 months, with no major improvements in the last 30 years. There is no standard oncological treatment available for metastatic UM patients, and BRAF/MEK and immune checkpoint inhibitors show disappointing results when compared to cutaneous melanoma (CM). Recent advances in biology, however, identified specific gene and chromosome alterations, potentially permitting an actively tailored surveillance strategy, and dedicated clinical studies. Being a rare cancer, UM patients have to overcome issues such as identifying referral centres, having access to information, and partnering with oncologists for specific management strategies and research priorities. Here, we describe how the European Rare Adult solid Cancer Network (EURACAN) will help in addressing these challenges and accelerating international collaborations to enhance the development of innovative treatments in UM

Testing the photo-sensitive nanocomposite system for potential controlled metallo-drug delivery

Photo-responsive drug release systems are promising for drug delivery applications due to many benefits compared to conventional chemotherapy such as targeted, controlled release of a drug and reduced toxicity to healthy tissues. In this work, we report synthesis of the nanocomposite system based on carrier TiO2 nanoparticles and potential anticancer ruthenium complex, with light controllable release properties. Nanocomposite system showed biological activity and induced the generation of free radicals, which are implied in the efficient cell killing. The drug release tests demonstrated sustained release of the transition metal complex from the surface implying the potency for the controlled drug delivery system. Taking into account photoactivity of the Ru-complex, in the next step we have investigated the influence of green light on the rate of the complex release, and the results showed dependence of the Ru-complex release from the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles on the applied laser energy. Therefore, these characteristics make this nanocomposite system promising for the photo-responsive chemotherapy