Intravascular elimination of circulating tumor cells and cascaded embolization with multifunctional 3D tubular scaffolds†

The primary tumor (“root”) and circulating tumor cells (CTCs; “seeds”) are vital factors in tumor progression. However, current treatment strategies mainly focus on inhibiting the tumor while ignoring CTCs, resulting in tumor metastasis. Here, we design a multifunctional 3D scaffold with interconnected macropores, excellent photothermal ability and perfect bioaffinity as a blood vessel implantable device. When implanted upstream of the primary tumor, the scaffold intercepts CTCs fleeing back to the primary tumor and then forms “micro-thrombi” to block the supply of nutrients and oxygen to the tumor for embolization therapy. The scaffold implanted downstream of the tumor efficiently captures and photothermally kills the CTCs that escape from the tumor, thereby preventing metastasis. Experiments using rabbits demonstrated excellent biosafety of this scaffold with 86% of the CTC scavenging rate, 99% of the tumor inhibition rate and 100% of CTC killing efficiency. The multifunctional 3D scaffold synergistically inhibits the “root” and eliminates the “seeds” of the tumor, demonstrating its potential for localized cancer therapy with few side effects and high antitumor efficacy.