Nanotech to target cancer cells
2009-03-11 14:08
London - British scientists said on
Tuesday they had developed a treatment that transports
anti-cancer genes selectively into cancer cells using
nanotechnology.
The therapy has so far only been tried out on mice, but the
aim is to test it in humans within two years.
If it works in people, it would provide a highly targeted
mechanism for delivering cancer-fighting gene therapy.
Cancer Research UK's Andreas Schatzlein, based at the School
of Pharmacy in London, said it was the first time that
nanoparticles had been shown to target tumours in such a
selective way.
Schatzlein and colleagues packaged anti-cancer genes in very
small particles that are only taken up by cancer cells, leaving
healthy cells unharmed. Once taken up, the genes force the cell
to produce proteins that can kill the cancer.
The approach may be particularly useful for people with
cancers that are inoperable because they are close to vital
organs such as the brain or lungs.
"We hope this therapy will be used to treat cancer patients
in clinical trials in a couple of years," Schatzlein said in a
statement.
Results of his team's study were published online in the
journal Cancer Research.
Gene therapy is viewed as promising area of research for
treating cancer and other diseases, but getting genes to exactly
the right place in the body is a major challenge.