A multifunctional therapeutic polyurethane platform for minimizing tumor recurrence and metastasis after breast-conserving surgery

In breast cancer therapy, the risk of local recurrence and distant metastasis caused by residual tumor cells during this process hinders the clinical application development of this technique. In this study, a drug-loaded multifunctional polyurethane system supporting minimally invasive surgical implantation is introduced, which enables sustained local release of the anticancer drug docetaxel (DTX). The material system employs in situ polymerization and gas foaming techniques from poly(ԑ-caprolactone) diol and polytetramethylene ether glycol, surface modified with polydopamine, and subsequently covalently immobilizes DTX-loaded liposomes onto the modified surface of the porous scaffolds. The resulting scaffold exhibits high porosity as an extracellular matrix and provides good mechanical support, demonstrating excellent shape-memory capability at 37 °C. In vitro monitoring revealed sustained drug release capability from the drug-loaded scaffold, while cellular experiments confirmed its outstanding antitumor activity and fibroblast adhesion behavior. Additionally, in vivo animal experiments show that the drug-loaded scaffold significantly inhibits tumor recurrence and distant metastasis while exhibiting low chemotherapy drug toxicity and causing no damage to healthy tissues. Therefore, this drug-loaded shape-changeable polyurethane scaffold emerges as a novel candidate for post-mastectomy prognosis in breast tumors and effective cancer treatment.