Recent experiments by American scientists on mice have shown that, thanks to nanomaterials, it is possible to deliver cancer treatment deep into tumors and destroy them without harming the surrounding healthy tissue.
After observing mice cured of prostate cancer using this technology, cancer specialists gathered at the European Cancer Conference in Paris yesterday praised the research and expressed hopes to apply it in treating cancer patients.
In their study, scientists from Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology attached nanomaterials to a cancer drug called Taxotere. These nanoparticles were then injected directly into tumors created from prostate cancer cells that were implanted in experimental mice. These mice were monitored over a period of 100 days.
The technology used includes a nanoparticle made from hydrogen and carbon polymer, with drug particles adhering to its structural surface. As the polymer gradually breaks down, it releases the drug bit by bit.
The group of mice in the study was divided into 5 groups and tested at varying levels. In the group of mice injected with drug-containing nanoparticles programmed to target tumors, the results were beyond expectations: the tumors completely disappeared, according to Dr. Omid Farokhzad, a member of the research team.
Nanotechnology has been researched for several decades, but only now are its potentials beginning to be recognized. The medical community hopes that it will become one of the most beneficial fields for them. In cancer treatment, they anticipate that nanotechnology will enable more precise drug delivery and surgeries, as well as make chemotherapy methods less harmful.
T.VY (According to MSN)
