Gamma radiation-responsive side-chain tellurium-containing polymer for cancer therapy

Abstract

The combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy could not only enhance cancer treatment efficacy, but also shorten the period of the overall treatment and relieve the anxiety of the patients during the remedy. Herein, we present a novel strategy for coordinating the chemotherapy drug CDDP with a tellurium-containing polymer, which restrained the tumour cytotoxicity of these two portions. After a low dose of γ radiation, CDDP departed from the coordination complexes, and the tumour cytotoxicity of both was restored. In contrast to conventional chemotherapy, this radiation responsive system possesses specific anticancer effects and less toxicity in the non-radiation therapy. In addition, with regard to the premise of therapeutic efficiency, this system effectively lowered the radiated dosage.