Thermosensitive methyl-cellulose-based injectable hydrogel carrying oxaliplatin for the treatment of peritoneal metastasis in colorectal cancer

Advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) with peritoneal metastasis (PM) is a highly aggressive malignancy with poor prognosis. Systematic chemotherapy and local treatments are the primary therapeutic approaches. However, systemic chemotherapy is limited by low accumulation of drugs at the tumor site and systemic toxicity. Local treatments include cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). However, CRS faces challenges related to incomplete tumor resection, while HIPEC is restricted by the uneven distribution of drugs and potential complications. Herein, a thermosensitive methyl-cellulose-based injectable hydrogel carrying oxaliplatin (OXA) was synthesized to improve this situation. Specifically, methyl cellulose (MC) coagulated into a hydrogel, and OXA was loaded into the MC hydrogel to construct the OXA-MC hydrogel. We explored the OXA-MC hydrogel for the treatment of PM in CRC. The results demonstrated that the OXA-MC hydrogel had favorable biocompatibility and thermo-sensitivity and could act as a local slow-release drug carrier. Moreover, in a CT-26 tumor-bearing model, it showed a remarkable anti-tumor effect by inhibiting proliferation and promoting apoptosis. Additionally, transcriptome analysis indicated that the OXA-MC hydrogel might be involved in the regulation of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. In summary, we successfully prepared the OXA-MC hydrogel and provided a valid approach in the treatment of PM in CRC, which lays a foundation for other PM treatments.