Page 171 - International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 3rd edition.

In laboratory testing, MEPS-II microcapsules containing Given the success in animal models in laboratory
anticancer drugs were injected directly into a human studies with human prostate and lung tumor treatment,
prostate and lung tumors in animal models. In follow- the NuVue team has high hopes of being able to begin
on tests, these models were also injected following use of the microcapsule treatment in breast cancer
the delivery of specific cryosurgical effects, similar to in the near future.
a freeze-and-thaw effect on the tumorous tissues. These kinds of technologies are enabled by the
Injecting the microcapsules directly into the tumor availability of the microgravity environment aboard
demonstrated improved site-specific therapeutic the space station. Just as microgravity can aid in the
results and the inhibition of tumor growth. Following discovery of new technologies for cancer treatment,
cryosurgery, the microcapsules demonstrated improved these microcapsules may one day aid in the recovery
destruction of the tumor better than freezing or local of breast and other specific deep-tissue cancers.
chemotherapy alone.
Though the previous laboratory studies of these
microcapsules were primarily focused on prostate and Using Weightlessness to Treat
lung cancer, NuVue Therapeutics, Inc. has been further Multiple Ailments
developing the technology to target breast cancer. The technology of dry immersion was developed
In May 2018, NuVue Therapeutics, Inc. will complete as an Earth-based model to study the effect of
the pre-clinical trials necessary for FDA submission microgravity factors on the human body. Using this
for approval of the microcapsules as innovative model, the effectiveness of measures developed to
micromarkers—i.e., tiny markers that can be used to prevent the negative impact of spaceflight factors on
visualize the borders of tumors to monitor their size people has been, and continues to, be evaluated.
throughout the treatment process. The team is also The countermeasures currently used on the ISS
currently developing plans for FDA approval of the were tested in experiments involving dry immersion.
microcapsules filled with anti-tumor drug therapies
as a treatment option, along with several devices Experts at the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP)
that will aid in drug delivery using this technology. developed the automated immersion system to create
water hypodynamia (utility model patent #44505
After achieving full FDA approval, planned clinical trials “Immersion bath” and invention patent #2441713
will involve injecting the microcapsules with the anti- “Polymer covering and device for dry immersion”).
tumor drugs directly into tumor sites in humans at
both MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, The concept of the technology involves submerging
and the Mayo Cancer Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. a person in an immersion bath filled with water.
The immersion system is an ergonomically designed
tub with a built-in elevation mechanism, filtration,
and temperature control systems. The subject is kept
separate from the water by a thin waterproof cloth
with an area significantly exceeding the area of
the water’s surface. In this way, conditions closely
simulating the lack of gravity are recreated. As a result,

The use of the immersion system
is also a particularly valuable
rehabilitation measure for premature

Dennis Morrison poses with the Microencap- babies who are exposed to the
sulation Electrostatic Processing System flight effects of gravity following the
hardware that was used on the ISS to produce
microcapsules for cancer treatment delivery. intrauterine environment.
Image credit: NASA

157