Nowadays, patients with tumor metastases in the abdominal cavity are treated, with chemotherapy applied directly in the abdominal cavity, without the proper tools for a physician to follow up on the treatment. This in combination with the current uncertainties with regards to the optimal amount of drug to use and the optimal treatment duration make that, in our opinion, much room is left for improvement of the current implemented therapies.
By studying the behavior of drugs, after being administered to the abdominal cavity, we would like to gain insights in why some drugs or drug products favor partitioning into the tumor whereas others favor the bloodstream over the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, by studying what happens once the drug has exerted its effect in the tumor cells, and by measuring a response originating from this effect, i.e. a protein produced by the drug effect, in the tumor as well as in the blood of mice we would like to evaluate whether this measured response could be used to guide the physician during the treatment.
After the experimental validation of our assumptions in a murine model we will translate our findings, using mathematical modeling techniques, towards the human situation. Our preclinical findings and model-based translation will be compared against current practice by setting up a clinical trial in patients treated for these abdominal tumor metastases.