Scientists have developed a revolutionary cure for cancer that literally lights up and destroys tiny cancer cells. This is an important one discovery which could allow surgeons to target and destroy disease in patients much more effectively.
A European team of engineers, physicists, neurosurgeons, biologists and immunologists from the United Kingdom, Poland and Sweden have joined forces to design a new form of photoimmunotherapy.
Experts believe it is destined to become the fifth major cancer treatment in the world after surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy.
The treatment activated with the light it causes cancer cells to glow in the dark, helping surgeons remove more tumors than with existing techniques – and then kills the remaining cells minutes after the operation is complete.
In a world first trial in mice with glioblastoma, who had one of the most common and aggressive types of brain cancer, the scans revealed that the new treatment illuminated even the tiniest cancer cells to help surgeons remove them, then eradicated whatever was left.
The trials of the new form of photoimmunotherapy, led by the Institute of Cancer Research, London Research), also showed that the treatment triggered an immune response that could reset the immune system to target cancer cells in the future, suggesting it could prevent glioblastoma from coming back after surgery.
A special fluorescent dye is used for the treatment with a compound that targets the cancer.
In the experiment performed on mice, the combination was shown to dramatically improve the visibility of cancer cells during surgery and when activated by a near-infrared light after surgery, it produced anti-cancer effects.
