Health & Medicine
Cancer: Heat-Activated 'Grenade' Targets Cancer
Rosanna Singh
First Posted: Nov 02, 2015 02:08 PM EST
Researchers are now using a new heat-activated 'grenade' technique to treat cancer, according to a recent study.
The researchers developed cancer drug-packed 'grenades', which consist of heat sensitive triggers that target tumors directly. The team developed liposomes, which are small, bubble-like structures built out of cell membrane used as packages to deliver molecules into cells, to transport drugs into the cancer cells.
"Temperature-sensitive liposomes have the potential to travel safely around the body while carrying your cancer drug of choice," said Kostas Kostarelos, author of the study and nanomedicine professor at the University of Manchester.
"Once they reach a 'hotspot' of warmed-up cancer cells, the pin is effectively pulled and the drugs are released. This allows us to more effectively transport drugs to tumors, and should reduce collateral damage to healthy cells," said Kostarelos in a news release.
The main goal in their experiment is to ensure that the treatment is targeted at tumors, and that healthy cells and tissues are unharmed. In their experiment, the researchers were able to fit liposomes with a heat-activated trigger. They slightly heated tumors in the lab on mouse models. They were able to control when the pin was pulled, so that the cancer killing 'grenades' targeted the cancer. The thermal trigger is set at 42 degrees Celsius, according to the researchers.
"Although this work has only been done in the lab so far, there are a number of ways we could potentially heat cancer cells in patients, depending on the tumor type some of which are already in clinical use," said Kostarelos.
This new method could enable researchers to target tumors while keeping healthy cells and tissues safe. The researchers will present this study at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool.
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TagsCancer, Cancer Treatment, Cancer cells, Tumors, Secondary Tumors, anticancer drugs, Cancer Treatments, heating treatment ©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
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First Posted: Nov 02, 2015 02:08 PM EST
Researchers are now using a new heat-activated 'grenade' technique to treat cancer, according to a recent study.
The researchers developed cancer drug-packed 'grenades', which consist of heat sensitive triggers that target tumors directly. The team developed liposomes, which are small, bubble-like structures built out of cell membrane used as packages to deliver molecules into cells, to transport drugs into the cancer cells.
"Temperature-sensitive liposomes have the potential to travel safely around the body while carrying your cancer drug of choice," said Kostas Kostarelos, author of the study and nanomedicine professor at the University of Manchester.
"Once they reach a 'hotspot' of warmed-up cancer cells, the pin is effectively pulled and the drugs are released. This allows us to more effectively transport drugs to tumors, and should reduce collateral damage to healthy cells," said Kostarelos in a news release.
The main goal in their experiment is to ensure that the treatment is targeted at tumors, and that healthy cells and tissues are unharmed. In their experiment, the researchers were able to fit liposomes with a heat-activated trigger. They slightly heated tumors in the lab on mouse models. They were able to control when the pin was pulled, so that the cancer killing 'grenades' targeted the cancer. The thermal trigger is set at 42 degrees Celsius, according to the researchers.
"Although this work has only been done in the lab so far, there are a number of ways we could potentially heat cancer cells in patients, depending on the tumor type some of which are already in clinical use," said Kostarelos.
This new method could enable researchers to target tumors while keeping healthy cells and tissues safe. The researchers will present this study at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool.
Related Articles
3-D Pancreatic Cancer Tumors Grown In Petri Dish Help Toward Cure For Pancreatic Cancer
Cancer Treatment: Orange Lichens, Potential Source For Anticancer Drugs
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone