Macau Team's pH-Triggered Depot Releases an Anticancer Peptide in the Tumor Bed After Breast Cancer Surgery in Mice
Researchers at the Macau University of Science and Technology, with a co-author from drugmaker Livzon, reported in Advanced Science on October 18, 2026 a lipid depot loaded with VDAP, an anticancer peptide derived from an HIV protein, that changes its internal structure and releases the peptide faster in the acidic tissue left after tumor removal. In mice with incompletely removed breast tumors, the depot killed remaining tumor cells in a way that alerted the immune system, increased tumor-fighting T cells, and reduced regrowth and lung metastases. The work is in mice.