2ⁿᵈ Edition of the Cancer R&D World Conference 2026

Abstract

Polymers have been widely used and investigated as drug carriers for treating cancer. While such polymers can be biodegradable, cytocompatible, functionalized to attach to certain cells and tissues, and have controllable drug (chemotherapeutic) release properties, can’t we do better ? Can’t we design polymers that both deliver drugs and fight the disease their embedded drugs were design to do ? Yes, we can and we have. This presentation will review novel polymeric systems that can delivery drugs for fighting cancer, inhibiting infection, promoting tissue growth, reversing immune disorders and more.  But more importantly, it will also show how such polymers themselves can be formulated to kill cancer cells and bacteria, promote tissue forming cell functions, and inhibit immune cells. Novel polymer functionalization strategies with nanometer geometries will be presented that can accomplish both of these important features for fighting diseases. This talk will cover how we have developed nanotextured implants now in over 30,000 patients with no cancer, no infection, no failure, only success. In this manner, this study introduces that polymers can not only deliver drugs to fight numerous diseases, but the polymers themselves can be formulated to treat diseases as well.