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Magnetic Nanoparticles Fry Tumors
sciencehabit writes "In a new study, a team found that injecting mice with tiny magnets and cranking up the heat eliminated tumors from the animals' bodies with no apparent side effects. The nanoparticles heat up when a magnetic field is applied, and because they are only injected into tumors, only cancerous cells get fried. Researchers hope the technique, known as magnetic hyperthermia, could be used in cancer patients, obviating the need for chemotherapy and radiation."
"In a new study, a team found that injecting mice with tiny magnets and cranking up the heat created a new breed of super mice that banded together to fight super villain mutants
-- Flame me and I will happily flame you back. Bring it!
What's Magneto's back story again?
I wonder how feasible injecting it directly into the tumor is. They need some kind of delivery agent that's preferentially absorbed by cancer cells, then you can just take a pill, walk into a magnetic field, and presto curo.
Imagine the post-treatment MRI scan. Ouch!
John
Anything that cures a cancer is a super win.
However, this thing requires that you know from outside the body exactly where the tumor is, so that you can target the injection.
In order to do that you need (near) real-time imaging, and that means CT scan (you're not doing an invasive procedure with magnetic fluid anywhere near a running MRI).
CT scans are made of multiple X-rays, meaning a much higher total dose of radiation than your average X-ray.
And X-rays cause cancer. So you're trading one certain tumor for the risk of more tumors. Still a win, if this treatment is itself highly effective.
So don't tell, the catch is that it's trickier getting these particles in the tumours in the first place?
And why don't the associated researchers barely ever post on slashdot? I mean come on, it's their stuff we're promoting/featuring. Really annoying.
Why OpalCalc is the best Windows calc
Pepper component hot enough to trigger suicide in prostate tumor cells ( trivially safely )
eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-03/aafc-pch031306.php
Cool. Now lets patent the manufacture and application of these nanoparticles and crank the price to $18,000/mcg. You already did? Good work. Now get a Medicare/caid billing code; $45,000 a treatment. Cha-ching!
There are a few problems with this: 1-you need to know where the cancer is (so why not remove it?) so it can't be used on spreading multi organ cancers 2-you need to stick a needle into it (this isn't safe for some parts of the body) 3-it won't always get all the cancer, just the parts you can reach so this will probably leave cancerous cells in the body afterwards that will settle into some other organ to grow.
I thought it was obligatory in any "cancer cure" article to say that it is experimental and may only see practical application in 5 to 10 years. Of course, this is followed by never hearing about the "cure" again.
Sounds very similar to the technique John Kanzius came up that uses RF energy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kanzius
Does the same thing. Getting close to human clinical trials. Electric field rather than magnetic. Gold nanoparticles. MD Anderson researcher. Awesome idea.
What can't they do?
Also, I prefer the egg sandwich from the gas station approach.... well, at least if the cancer was in my pelvic splanchnic ganglion
For this next test we put nanoparticles in the gel. In layman's terms, that's a billion little gizmos that are gonna travel into your bloodstream and pump experimental genes and RNA molecules and so forth into your tumours. Now maybe you don't have any tumours. Well don't worry, if you sat on a folding chair in the lobby and weren't wearing lead underpants we took care of that too. - Cave Johnson Aperture Science CEO
I had a sig, but
My father had a similar procedure to wipe out his prostate cancer. Metal beads injected into tumor, three low-power radio beams focused on the target, beams combine very focally, beads heat, tumor burns away. Macrophages clean up the mess. Dad totally cancer-free for a decade now and has none of the side effects of surgery. thanks University of Virginia!
I have something in common with Stephen Hawking...
If it has to be injected into the tumor than the tumors must still be identified. Chemo will still be needed to catch smaller tumors that are not identified. So it looks like a less invasive alternative to surgically removing tumors. Useful but a lot way from a cure for cancer.
This method sounds strangely similar to the non invasive Radio wave treatment that John Kanzius was working on before his death. Dr. Steven Curley, a leading cancer researcher from the University of Texas has been continuing the research that involves gold nanoparticles being bombarded with radio waves. I believe they are currently in clinical trials already.
This is very close to the work of John Kanzius.
From the recent paper...
From John Kanzius' Wikipedia page...
One uses magnetic action, the other uses RF action.
Here is 1 of 3 videos of the "60 Minutes" episode on YouTube.
I wonder if this might end up in a patent fight or worse?
[End Of Line]
They can also use ultrasound to guide the needle/probe/injector to the tumor.
Thing the first: In TFA, they tested this with brain cancer tumors transplanted onto mice, and the result was a 100% cure. Full remission.
Second thing: If this takes billions of cancer cells and reduces that number to a few hundred, then it's a treatment and not a cure. But still would be massively useful.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
You can imagine functionalizing the surface of these nanoparticles with a) a precursor the cancer needs either uniquely or at much higher rate than normal cells to grow, or b) a binding antibody specific to the cancer. These could promote preferential nanoparticle binding or uptake, after which you apply the alternating B field for the local temperature increase.
This approach has been used by various groups in the past several years. Sometimes the nanoparticles are attached to antigens which can bind to a select type of tumor cell and enter them releasing the nanoparticle and then they can be heated and lysed. The difficulty has always been selectivity, having the nanoparticles only target cancerous cells and not normal cells.
...if core/shell nano particles are carcinogenic?!?
this is excellent news for sure but it's no silver bullet. one problem is that it requires you inject the magnetic particles into the tumor which can be tricky and if you miss, it's bad news. another is if you inject too much it will kill the surrounding tissue. you may think a little extra isnt too bad but when the tumor is in your brain, it matters. lastly, there doesnt seem to be any mention of being able to remove the particles. this is a problem if you ever want to have an MRI and not have them all ripped out of your body.
this may work for some cancers but not all.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
destroying god's work. One step @ a time ^^
I wonder, how do they check if it worked when the magnets are still in the body?
http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/article24.aspx ... The most recent scientific advancement in the anti-cancer research is the identification of specific foods and food elements that offer powerful protection against cancer. These foods are essential for both prevention of cancer and also increased odds of survival after diagnosis. Harmful foods and supplements have also been identified, and avoiding or minimizing these is equally as important. ... All vegetables are not equally protective. Epidemiological studies suggest that cruciferous vegetables, onions, and mushrooms are far more protective against cancer than vegetables overall - inverse relationships between cruciferous vegetable intake and breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers have been found. For example, in one prospective study, one or more servings per week of cabbage reduced the risk of pancreatic cancer by 38% This was only one serving a week, which demonstrates that dramatic protection is available and real when a diet is ideally designed. The regular consumption of mushrooms has been demonstrated to decrease risk of breast cancer by over 60 percent. Onions, berries, seeds and beans also have dramatic beneficial effects. Beans in general, not just soy, are beneficial for protecting against reproductive cancers such as breast and prostate cancer.
"According to the CDC, only one-third of U.S. adults eat two or more servings of fruit per day, and only one-quarter of adults eat three or more servings of vegetables per day. These minimal amounts cannot be expected to provide disease protection. I recommend a far more substantial intake of fruits and vegetables with 90 percent of calories coming from nutrient rich plant material, lots of it raw and green. I recommend about two pounds of vegetables and at least 4 fresh fruits per day. Most importantly, attention should be paid to the highly cancer-protective plant foods, greens, onion, berries, beans and seeds.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-conditions/cancer/
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/study-vitamin-d-kills-cancer-cells/story?id=9904415
"Doctors have known that low levels of vitamin D are linked to certain kinds of cancers as well as to diabetes and asthma, but new research also shows that the vitamin can kill human cancer cells. The results fall short of an immediate cancer cure, but they are encouraging, medical professionals say. JoEllen Welsh, a researcher with the State University of New York at Albany, has studied the effects of vitamin D for 25 years. Part of her research involves taking human breast cancer cells and treating them with a potent form of vitamin D. Within a few days, half the cancer cells shriveled up and died. Welsh said the vitamin has the same effect as a drug used for breast cancer treatment. "What happens is that vitamin D enters the cells and triggers the cell death process," she told "Good Morning America." "It's similar to what we see when we treat cells with Tamoxifen," a drug used to treat breast cancer. "
You can either get your chemotherapy every day from the phytonutrients in vegetables, fruits, and beans, and also vitamin D, or you can pay some oncologist a lot of money when you are older for iffy results.
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
i have a mother with kemo restent cancer abought to die. i bet she would be willing to give this a human tiral. she relly has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
It will be difficult to inject nanoparticles into real brain tumors since they won't be grafted onto the bellies of mice. Injecting safely into tumors that are more or less inaccessible has and still is the main detriment to this treatment.
It's great if you're lucky enough to have a tumor at an easy injection site.