A Big Breakthrough in Cancer Treatment Via Nanotechnology

Julie Steenhuysen, writing for Reuters, reports that the application of nanotechnology to target critical chemical messaging systems involved in disease such as cancer shows great promise for the development of successful treatments.

The groundbreaking innovation focuses on ribonucleic acid (RNA), complex molecular chains that help deliver genetic information from our DNA to other structures in our bodies. Mark Davis from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena has turned to nanotechnology to help prevent RNA from delivering bad genetic information that results from mutations to locations in the body where it can result in the growth of skin cancer.

In a study published in the journal Nature, and as reported recently in Nature News, Davis and his research team developed tiny particles constructed from polymers and proteins that are suitable for introduction into the bloodstream. As Nature reports, these nanoparticles are able to bind to the surface of skin cancer cells and prevent the delivery of genetic codes delivered by RNA that would otherwise give instructions to make more cancer cells through a process called RNA interference.

So far, the promising results are limited to findings that the research team documented in human tissue samples observed in test tubes. But Davis and his team are enthusiastic about the prospect of the logical next steps, the development of a treatment suitable for human trials. Davis explains to Nature:

"My hope is to make tumors melt away while maintaining a high quality of life for the patients. We're moving another step closer to being able to do that now."

Photo by Wilfredo R. Rodriguez H. via Wikimedia Commons.