# Magnetoelectric Nanotherapy Achieves Complete Tumor Ablation and Prolonged Survival in Pancreatic Cancer Murine Models

## TL;DR

Magnetoelectric nanoparticles offer a non-invasive, drug-free treatment for pancreatic cancer in mice, effectively reducing tumors and extending survival with MRI-guided therapy.

## Contribution

Introduces magnetoelectric nanoparticles as a novel theranostic platform for targeted tumor ablation with real-time MRI feedback.

## Key findings

- MENPs achieved complete tumor responses in 33.3% of mice and significantly prolonged survival.
- MRI T2* relaxation time decreases correlated strongly with tumor reduction.
- MENPs induce apoptosis in cancer cells with minimal toxicity to surrounding tissues.

## Abstract

Magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MENPs), when activated by a magnetic field, are shown to provide a minimally invasive, drug‐free, theranostic approach to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) treatment. The magnetoelectric effect allows intravenously administered MENPs to be magnetically guided to PDAC tumors and remotely activated with a 7T‐MRI field to induce targeted, electrode‐free tumor ablation with real‐time imaging feedback. A single MENP treatment achieved a threefold median reduction in tumor volume and complete tumor responses in 33.3% of mice at 300 and 600 µg doses (N = 17) and significantly longer mean overall survival as compared to the control cohorts (54.1 vs 28.8 days, χ2 = 40.14, p = 0.045), without evident toxicity in any imaged organ. In contrast, mice receiving subtherapeutic doses, non‐activated MENPs, or saline controls showed no significant response. MRI T2* relaxation time decreases closely correlated with tumor reduction (ρ = −0.73, p < 0.001), supporting MENPs as both a therapeutic and imaging biomarker. Mechanistically, MENPs preferentially target cancer cells via magnetic‐field‐driven electrostatic interactions specific to tumor cell membranes, in agreement with multiphysics numerical simulations. Flow cytometry confirmed that MENP activation primarily induces apoptosis, with minimal necrosis, and time‐course studies showed a progressive apoptotic response over 3‐hour post‐treatment. The findings establish MENPs as a versatile, image‐guided, theranostic platform with translational promise for minimally invasive oncology.

Magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MENPs) serve as externally controlled, MRI‐activated theranostic agents for targeted cancer therapy by inducing electric field‐based ablation in solid tumors. MENPs enable simultaneous precise tumor ablation and MRI signal modulation, allowing real‐time treatment monitoring and prediction of therapeutic outcomes with no discernable toxicity in preclinical models.