10116616Needle-free treatment of skin cancers with bleomycinClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKCommon types of skin cancer are usually removed with surgery, but this can leave scars as well as relapse potential. As such we need better treatments that won't need surgical intervention and can stop the cancer from coming back. One treatment that doesn't need invasive surgery for this is a drug called bleomycin. Right now, it's given as an injection into the skin cancer, but this can spread the drug to healthy tissues and cause serious side effects, even lung damage in rare cases. Ideally, we'd like to administer bleomycin directly to the cancer simply by applying it to the surface of the skin, but it's a big molecule and can't get through the barriers within the skin, and thus cannot access the cancer cells to kill them. The London Dermatology Centre has come up with a new way to deliver bleomycin by encasing it in elastic liposomes, which are tiny fatty bubbles that can penetrate through the skin. Early tests with a version of bleomycin packaged inside these bubbles (called Bleosome) showed promising results in getting rid of skin tumours. The London Dermatology Centre has re-invented a new version of the Bleosome formula to make it more stable and last longer. Tests on skin samples from humans and animals have shown that this new formula can get into the skin and kill cancer cells better than before. One interesting thing they noticed is that this treatment can also make hair grow to the area it is applied, suggesting it can have applications in treating alopecia or pattern hair-loss too. The London Dermatology Centre wants to do a small clinical study to see how well this new Bleosome works for treating non-melonoma skin cancers and pre-cancerous lesions. These skin challenges are not dangerous but can become so over time, so treating them successfully can reduce the risk of melanoma skin cancer forming. At the same time, the study has a surprising secondary aim which is based on positive findings so far. This is to analyse and evaluate the impact on hair growth and hair properties with the hopes of demonstrating Bleosome's feasibility as a hair loss treatment also.