Researchers develop new skin patch for melanoma treatment

Researchers in the US have developed a new skin patch as a potentially new melanoma treatment by delivering medication to cancer cells in one minute.

Microneedle patch, which could be used to deliver vaccines to combat different infectious diseases, was tested in mice and human skin samples.

Melanoma, a form of skin cancer, has been increasing in the US for the past 30 years. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, almost 100,000 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed every year, and 20 Americans die every day from the disease.

Yanpu He – a graduate student who helped develop the device that could be used in melanoma treatment, said: “Our patch has a unique chemical coating and mode of action that allows it to be applied and removed from the skin in just a minute while still delivering a therapeutic dose of drugs.

“Our patches elicit a robust antibody response in living mice and show promise in eliciting a strong immune response in human skin.”

The new microneedle skin patch which is being developed as potential melanoma treatment. Photo courtesy of CELESTINE HONG AND YANPU HE.

Prepared with a layer-by-layer (LbL) coating method, the skin patch is said to be one easy, pain-free way to administer melanoma treatment.

Scientists have vaccinated mice with their patches using chicken ovalbumin as a model antigen and compared the results with intramuscular and subcutaneous injections.

Apart from effective immune activation in surgical samples of human skin, the microneedle treatment produced nine times the antibody level compared to intramuscular injections and 160 times the antibody level compared to subcutaneous injections.

The US Department of Defense, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT and the Institute of Soldier Nanotechnologies at MIT have funded the research work.

The researchers will present their findings on the use of the skin patch for melanoma treatment today, on August 25, at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall 2019 National Meeting and Exposition.