Development of octreotide-conjugated polymeric prodrug of bufalin for targeted delivery to somatostatin receptor 2 overexpressing breast cancer in vitro and in vivo

Background: Development of polymeric prodrugs of small molecular anticancer drugs has become one of the most promising strategies to overcome the intrinsic shortcomings of small molecular anticancer drugs and improve their anticancer performance. Materials and methods: In the current work, we fabricated a novel octreotide (Oct)-modified esterase-sensitive tumor-targeting polymeric prodrug of bufalin (BUF) and explored its anticancer performance against somatostatin receptor 2 overexpressing breast cancer. Results: The obtained tumor-targeting polymeric prodrug of BUF, P(oligo[ethylene glycol] monomethyl ether methacrylate [OEGMA]-co-BUF-co-Oct), showed a nanosize dimension and controlled drug release features in the presence of esterase. It was demonstrated by in vitro experiment that P(OEGMA-co-BUF-co-Oct) showed enhanced cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, and apoptosis in comparison with those of free BUF. In vivo experiment further revealed the improved accumulation of drugs in tumor tissues and enhanced anticancer performance of P(OEGMA-co-BUF-co-Oct). Conclusion: Taken together, this study indicated that polymeric prodrug of BUF holds promising potential toward the treatment of somatostatin receptor 2 overexpressing breast cancer.