Latest in Scientific
Cancer Treatments:
Nitrogen Mustard a
compound similar to Mustard gas used in World War II can be considered as first
chemotherapeutic agent used to fight cancer. This substance was first used in
Dec 1942. Since then scientists have developed many chemotherapeutic agents with
higher effectiveness and with lesser side effects.
Majority of people are
aware of drastic side effects of cancer treatment which can be Chemotherapy,
Radiation therapy or surgery. Even the medical and scientific world is
aware of the shortcomings of treatments which are used at present for Cancer
treatment.
Following are some of the
treatments which are under advanced stage of research. These tests are yet to
get approval from authorities like FDA for actual use on humans but majority
have shown very encouraging results in clinical or animal trials.
1. Cancer Detecting Bra
2. Microwaving Cancer
3. Gold Nanorods Target Tumors
4. Slowing Cancer Metabolism
6. Bombing Cancer with Virus
7. Use of Newer contrast agents to fight cancer
10. Micro-bubbles activated by
Ultrasound for killing cancer cells
11. Use of Electric field for
killing cancer cells.
12. Use of
Laser micro-scalpel to kill individual cancer cell
13.Capturing cancer cells
with magnets
14.Blocking Proliferation
of Beta cells in Leukemia
15.Interferon based drugs
to cure breast cancer
16.Latest endoscopic
techniques to detect Pancreatic cancer at very early stage.
1. Cancer Detecting Bra
Scientists from the Centre
for Research and Innovation at the University of Bolton in the United Kingdom,
led by Professor Elias Siores, are using an existing technique for detecting breast
cancer at its early stages.
An innovative bra
currently under development might be able to detect the cancerous growths
before they spread to additional areas, thus preventing metastasis and a more
severe course of disease. The bra will notify the wearer of a problem and
advise them to seek professional help.
Thermography is a type of
infrared imaging science. A thermographic camera detects changes in the
infrared radiation range and produces images of this radiation. The bra can use
this technique because of the way cancerous tissue stands out metabolically
against the healthy background tissues. Since tumors are constantly growing,
they need a greater blood flow to supply them with nutrients and oxygen. A
greater blood flow causes temperature to be elevated. This information is then
analyzed by a separate controller unit which then sets off an alarm if the
normal breast tissue temperature is exceeded.
2. Microwaving Cancer
Researchers from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a therapeutic
strategy against breast cancer, using chemotherapy and microwave energy. The
method involves heating the cancer cells with special radar while conducting
traditional chemotherapy treatment. This combination of microwave-generated
heat strategy, known as thermotherapy, and traditional chemotherapy caused
cancer patients' large tumors to shrink drastically and completely destroyed
smaller tumors. The new method is now pending large scale clinical trials in
Canada and the United States.
The microwave energy is
generated using two applicators located near the patient's breast. This energy
heats the cancer cells while leaving normal cells almost intact. The treatment
attacks cancer cells that contain more water and ions than normal cells. The
energy, applied in microwaves, makes the ions and water molecules vibrate and
heat the cell. The cancer cells reach temperatures as high as 42.2 degrees
Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit), making them inanimate. So far, the treatment
has had very little side effects in clinical trials.
The treatment developed in
MIT showed promising results in several clinical trials. In the latest clinical
trials, 15 patients with large cancerous tumors were treated using a
combination of chemotherapy and thermotherapy. On average, the tumors decreased
in size by 50 percent more than tumors treated with chemotherapy alone. In
another series of clinical trials, which were conducted earlier on patients
with small tumors, all the cancer cells were successfully eliminated prior to surgery
using the combined thermotherapy-chemotherapy method.
3. Gold Nanorods Target
Tumors
Researchers at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed tiny gold rods
capable of singling out tumorous cells and destroying them without damaging
nearby healthy tissue. The gold nanorods absorb energy from near infrared light
and then focus that energy at the tumors in the form of heat. The particles
could also be used to locate and diagnose hidden or hard to reach tumors that
don't necessarily show themselves with conventional imaging techniques.
4. Slowing Cancer
Metabolism
Researchers at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University in Cambridge,
Massachusetts are exploring new cancer drugs that work to slow or block cancer
metabolism, effectively starving cancer cells to death. According to their
study, the scientists identified a new way that such cells speed up their
metabolism and divert energy to new cell creation. They are developing new
drugs that slow or block this alternate mechanism to fight cancer.
5. Fight
Cancer with Purple
Tomato
Don't you just love it
when simply eating something tasty helps you fight and prevent disease?
Researchers from the John Innes Centre in Norwich, U.K. have genetically
modified a tomato so that in addition to having a ravishing purple hue, it can
also help prevent cancer.
Anthocyanins are
naturally occurring pigments found at particularly high levels in berries such
as blackberry, cranberry and chokeberry. These bioactive compounds offer
protection against certain cancers, cardiovascular disease and age-related
degenerative diseases. There is also some evidence that anthocyanins also have
anti-inflammatory activity, promote visual acuity and hinder obesity and diabetes.
But since most
people eat a small variety of vegetables, scientists are investigating ways to
increase the levels of health-promoting compounds in fruits and vegetables that
are more commonly seen on our plates. (Eat More Vegetables)
6. Bombing Cancer with
Virus
Researchers from the North
Carolina State University have modified a common plant virus to deliver drugs
specifically into cancer cells without harming the surrounding tissue. This
discovery could increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy as well as reduce
the side effects of the treatment.
Viruses are often used for
the delivery of therapeutic drugs and recently the creation of tiny medical
“smart bombs” has become one of the hottest areas of research in
nanotechnology. These bombs are able to attach themselves to specific cells and
deliver a chemical substance. While such devices would be useful to treat a
variety of disease, they are usually used to fight cancer.
7. Use of Newer contrast
agents to fight cancer
Researcher Kristina
Djanashvili, from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, has
developed a new contrast agent which can be used in MRI scans in order to
better identify tumors. Her discovery should lead to earlier and more precise
cancer detection and treatment.
Kristina Djanashvili, a
postgraduate researcher from TU Delft, has recently developed a new contrast
agent with greater tumor affinity and contrast induction characteristics.
Greater affinity means that a smaller amount of cancerous growth can be picked
up by the MRI and tumors can be found at earlier stages and visualized more
accurately than by use of existing substances
Scientists from Stanford
University have developed a device that can scan blood and find signs of
cancer, even at its earliest stages. Early detection will allow early treatment
and greatly improve the survival chances of patients.
Stanford University
scientists have developed a system based on MagArray's biodetection chips that
are capable of detecting cancer-associated proteins in a blood serum sample in
less than an hour. MagArray is a startup company in the Panorama Institute for
Molecular Medicine, a not-for-profit incubator in Sunnyvale, California. The
device was created using magnetic nanotechnology and can detect cancer proteins
with a far greater sensitivity than that of existing commercial devices. As a
result of this enhanced sensitivity, cancer can be detected at a very early
stage, while there are relatively few proteins released into the bloodstream.
Researchers at the Broad
Institute and Whitehead Institute (both in Cambridge, Massachusetts) have
discovered a chemical that kills breast cancer stem cells in mice. These cells
are believed to be the cause of the spread of cancer and also of the recurrence
of some cancers that previously appeared to be eradicated. By killing these
stem cells, both the spread and reappearance of cancers could be decreased and,
ultimately, prevented.
10. Micro-bubbles
activated by Ultrasound for killing cancer cells
Philips is currently
developing a new technology, which will administer drugs into specific
locations using Ultrasound-Activated Microbubbles. This new technology will
increase the effectiveness and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy for
several types of cancer.
The system is designed to
help ultrasound operators locate tumours based on their density and the
tumour-specific network of small blood vessels. When the tumour is located, the
system shatters the shells of the microbubbles by means of a focused, high-energy
ultrasound pulse. Once the shells are destroyed, the contents of the
microbubbles spill into the surrounding area and the drugs reach the tumour
directly instead of going through the whole bloodstream. This localized release
technique prevents the drugs from influencing other systems in the body, thus
preventing gruelling side-effects and improving the quality of life of the
patient undergoing chemotherapy.
11. Use of Electric field
for killing cancer cells.
A group of scientists
headed by Yoram Palti from the Technion Institute in Israel, succeeded in
killing dividing cells without harming non-dividing ones using electrical
charges. It turns out that an electrical field in a small enough voltage
doesn't damage living cells. The scientists used this fact to treat a cancerous
organ with an altering current (AC) electrical field. Using the AC electrical
field, normal cells remain unharmed while the dividing cancerous cells are
destroyed.
The researches as
mentioned above and many similar researches going on around the world will one
day certainly result in complete cure of all types of Cancers.
Readers are
requested to share any similar scientific information which they may come
across.
Happy Mind Is Healthy Mind
Happy Mind Is Healthy Mind
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