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Nanomaterials Used in Possible Cancer Cure

Posted by timothy on from the dern-fancy-doodads dept.

Moiche writes "Medical researchers at CalTech and the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles have successfully inhibited cancer growth in mice by wrapping engineered RNA in nanomaterials and introducing them into the bloodstream. Two polymers and a special coating allow the therapeutic RNA to enter the cancer cell and release the therapeutic RNA payload. The new technique has slowed or prevented the development of secondary tumors in lab mice with Ewing's sarcoma. Further testing is planned on humans, and with other cancers. The Diamond Age seems closer, day by day."

6 of 211 comments (clear)

  1. In a perfect world by thundercatslair · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A good friend of mine found out today that she has inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). I would like to belive that a technology like this could help her, but I don't think that she will ever get that chance.

    1. Re:In a perfect world by punchie1 · · Score: 5, Informative

      I am a medical oncologist and wanted to clear up the fact that inflammatory breast cancer is the worst type of breast cancer to have. Very aggressive treatment can get it under control but it has a very high rate of relapse. I hate being the bearer of bad news, but your friend should make sure that she is receiving state of the art combined modality therapy.

  2. RNAi Technology by Xeroc · · Score: 5, Informative

    This uses RNAi technology - that is the RNA they deploy is complementary to the RNA produced in Cancer Cells, and so they complement with the cancer RNA into a double-stranded piece of RNA - which screams virus - and the cell destroys it. Therefore stopping the growth of the cancer.

    This method of using the nanomaterials to protect it and enable it to enter the cancer cells surely looks very promising!

    --
    "Real programmers don't comment their code. If it was hard to write it should be hard to understand."
  3. Re:Why is this even necessary? by GreenHead · · Score: 5, Informative

    Have you ever tried to changed your internal pH to be alkaline balance? I'm sure you haven't cause you would be dead. The body can only exist in a narrow range of pH to functional properly.

  4. Re:Why is this even necessary? by mcc · · Score: 5, Funny

    Have you ever tried to changed your internal pH to be alkaline balance? I'm sure you haven't cause you would be dead.

    In which case it would most definitely be impossible for cancer to form.

    The technique works!

    --
    Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
  5. Source Article by dmaduram · · Score: 5, Informative

    Just as a fyi, the press release for Hu et. al.'s research can be found at the American Association for Cancer Research proceedings page -- it's more technical than the Economist article linked above, but is quite informative.