3D printed biodegradable esophageal stents for the treatment of radiation esophagitis

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.November 10, 2020

Radiation esophagitis, characterized by inflammation of the esophagus, is the most common acute adverse effect of radiotherapy causing swallowing problems. This eventually causes dehydration and leaves the body unsuitable for further treatment. Unfortunately, there is currently no direct cure for patients suffering from these conditions. For this, a POSTECH research team has developed esophageal stents that biodegrade in the body using 3D printers, opening up the possibility of treating the condition.

A joint research team led by Professor Dong-Woo Cho and Ph.D. candidate Suhun Chae of the POSTECH Department of Mechanical Engineering and Dr. Dong-Heon Ha of EDmicBio, Inc. jointly produced biodegradable stents with bioinks of esophageal derivation to directly treat radiation esophagitis and verified their therapeutic effects on animal models. These research findings were recently published in Biomaterials, an academic journal with international authority in the field of biomaterials.

Various treatment methods have been developed to cure cancer, but radiation therapy is still one of the common treatments alongside surgery and chemotherapy. If radiation esophagitis occurs during radiation therapy, treatment is limited to cataclysmic therapy that relieves pain depending on the symptoms that appear or inserting a stent to open the swollen esophagus to allow for drinking or eating. However, these methods do not directly treat damaged tissues.

The research team first produced bioinks which removed cellular components from esophageal tissues and extracted only the extracellular matrix through the decellularization process. They produced a handlebar stent that can carry this bioink using a 3D printing system. By inserting this stent into an animal’s inflamed esophagus, they confirmed that it promotes tissue regeneration by mitigating inflammatory reactions.

The effectiveness of treatment is negated if proper nutrition cannot be provided due to pain. If esophageal stent implantation is applied clinically, we expect patients to have a better prognosis and a better quality of life. “

Dong-Woo Cho, head of the studio

This research was conducted under the Research Leader Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea and in collaboration with EDmicBio, Inc., which specializes in the commercialization of organs on 3D chips and medical devices.