Programmable Dna Hydrogel Assisting Microcrystal Formulations for Sustained Locoregional Drug Delivery in Surgical Residual Tumor Lesions And Lymph Node Metastasis.

Surgical residual tumor lesions (R1 resection of surgical procedures (e.g., liver cancer infiltrating the diaphragm, surgical residual breast cancer, postoperative residual ovarian cancer) or boundary residual after ablation) and lymph node metastasis that cannot be surgically resected (retroperitoneal lymph nodes) significantly affect postoperative survival of tumor patients. This clinical conundrum poses three challenges for local drug delivery systems: stable and continuous delivery, good biocompatibility, and the ability to package new targeted drugs that can synergizing with other treatments.Here, we report a drug-laden hydrogel generated from pure DNA strands and highly programmable in adjusting its mesh size. Meanwhile, the DNA hydrogel could assist the micro-crystallization of a novel radiosensitizing drugs, ataxia telangiectasia and rad3-related protein (ATR) inhibitor (Elimusertib), further facilitating its long-term release. When applied to the tumor site, the hydrogel system demonstrated significant antitumor activity, minimized systemic toxicity, and had a modulatory effect on the tumor-immune cell interface. Our drug-loaded DNA-hydrogel platform represents a novel modality for adjuvant therapy in patients with surgical residual tumor lesions and lymph node metastasis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.