Improving Convection-Enhanced Delivery Through Photothermal Augmentation of Fluid Dispersal

Malignant tumors of the central nervous system are the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in adolescents and adults between the ages of 15 and 34; in children, brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer death. Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) has emerged as a promising method for the transport of high concentrations of chemotherapeutic macromolecules to brain tumors. CED is a minimally-invasive surgical procedure wherein a stereotactically-guided small-caliber catheter is inserted into the brain parenchyma, to a tumor site, for low flowrate infusion of chemotherapy [1]. This direct-delivery method bypasses obstacles to systemic chemotherapy caused by the selective impermeability of the blood-brain barrier. Although preliminary studies were favorable, CED recently failed Phase III FDA trials because clinical goals for tumor regression were not met [2]. This was primarily attributed to insufficient diffuse delivery of the drug throughout tumor masses and their surrounding margins.