Research Projects

Breast cancer (BC) metastasizes to bones, disrupting normal bone physiology and causing bone resorption. surgery to remove metastatic tissue and replace damaged bone can lead to critical sized bone defects, increasing the risk of recurrence. To promote bone regeneration and prevent recurrent tumor growth, bifunctional biomaterials combining tumor therapy and tissue engineering are essential. Drug-eluting biomaterials, particularly simvastatin (sIM), are hypothesized to be superior for in-situ bone regeneration and modulating tumor-bone microenvironment. However, there is no report deciphering sIM's osteogenic role under tumor microenvironment (TME). sIM modulates the interaction of BC cells with osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and mesenchymal stem cells (MsCs) under normal and tumor microenvironment (TME). The study aims to assess sIM's anti-tumor capacity, its potential to promote bone regeneration, and inhibit further tumor progression in BC-mediated bone metastasis. The biomaterial system will be characterized for its physico-chemical and biological properties. The osteogenic role of wollastonite loaded with sIM will be studied in vitro. The outcome is expected to unravel the osteogenic mechanisms mediated by sIM under tumor microenvironment.