PhD defence R. (Rogier) van Oossanen

Below is a brief summary of the dissertation:

In this research we have made the first steps to develop a new treatment for early-stage breast cancer. By using specifically designed nanoparticles, we hope to replace surgical removal of the tumor and the subsequent radiotherapy by a single day treatment. This would reduce treatment time, improve cosmetic results for the patient and lower the burden of the treatment.

To do this, we have made nanoparticles that combine magnetic and radioactive materials into a single particle with unique properties. The magnetic properties enable us to heat the nanoparticles using a magnetic field. After injecting the nanoparticles in the tumor, the heat generated by the nanoparticles will kill the bulk of the tumor. Then the radioactive part of the nanoparticles will irradiate the few remaining tumor cells from within the body, slowly decaying until after a few months the radioactivity has decayed.

We have researched various methods to produce the complex magnetic, radioactive nanoparticles in a reliable way, finetuning the production process until we achieved the best nanoparticles for heating and irradiation. Then we tested the nanoparticles in a magnetic field, finding the optimal magnetic field settings for maximizing the heat output. We showed the feasibility of performing thermal ablation with these nanoparticles, and simulated the radiation dose of our novel treatment to compare it with conventional brachytherapy. Finally, we performed experiments on cell cultures in the lab to investigate the behavior of the nanoparticles in living cells. The results are promising for future research to this novel therapy.