| Summary: | Du Meng,1,* Hongwei Lei,2,* Xiaoqiang Zheng,3 Yaxuan Han,4 Ronggang Sun,5 Dongli Zhao,1 Rui Liu11Department of Radio Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, 710061, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Radio Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, 116027, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, 710061, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Oncology, The Xi’an Chest Hospital, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, 710000, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Radio Oncology, The People’s Hospital of YangZhong City, YangZhong, Jiangsu Province, 212200, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workBackground: Breast cancer is one of the foremost threats to female health nowadays. Tamoxifen, an antagonist of estrogen receptor-α (ERα), is the first choice for endocrine-dependent breast cancer (ERα-positive breast cancer) treatment. However, ERα has an important function in the normal physical regulation of estrogen, and current oral administration of tamoxifen has potential side effects on normal endocrine secretion. In the present work, we aim to develop novel approaches to increase the antitumor effect of tamoxifen on breast cancer cells and decrease the potential side effects in the human body during treatment.Methods: A temperature-sensitive phase-change hydrogel for tamoxifen (Tam-Gel) was generated. After establishing subcutaneous tumors formed by MCF-7, an ERα-positive breast cancer cell line, in nude mice, an intratumoral injection of Tam-Gel was performed to examine whether Tam-Gel facilitated the slow-release or antitumor effect of tamoxifen. A metastatic breast cancer model was established using the intrahepatic growth of MCF-7 cells in immunodeficient rats.Results: Tam-Gel can transform from liquid to hydrogel at room temperature. An intratumoral injection of Tam-Gel facilitated the slow-release or antitumor effect of tamoxifen. Once Tam-Gel, but not Tam-Sol, was administered by intratumoral injection, it significantly decreased the uptake of radionuclide probes (18F-fluoroestradiol or 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose) by cells in rats’ livers and the intrahepatic growth of MCF-7 cells in rats’ livers.Conclusion: A novel slow-release system was successfully prepared to facilitate the long-term release of tamoxifen in breast cancer tissues, and achieved an antitumor effect in the long term.Keywords: breast cancer, estrogen receptor-α, tamoxifen nanoparticle, temperature-sensitive phase-change hydrogel
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