New method kills cancer with 50 times less chemo
Paclitaxel is a potent drug used to treat breast, lung, and pancreatic cancer. However, the drug has unpleasant side effects such as hair loss, muscle pain and diarrhea.
Now, for the first time, researchers from the University of North Carolina found a way to use 50 times less of the drug and get the same results.
They packaged the drug in containers derived from the bodies’ immune system, so it can reach the tumor before the body sees it as an intruder.
Elena Batrakova and colleagues used exosomes, material from white blood cells. Unlike plastic-based packaging in traditional drugs, the body doesn’t recognize exosomes as foreign intruders.
“Exosomes are engineered by nature to be the perfect delivery vehicles,” said Batrakova, who has also used this technique as a potential therapy for Parkinson’s disease. “By using exosomes from white blood cells, we wrap the medicine in an invisibility cloak that hides it from the immune system. We don’t know exactly how they do it, but the exosomes swarm the cancer cells, completely bypassing any drug resistance they may have and delivering their payload.”
Researchers also found that the exosomes were effective in seeking out cancer cells. “Accurately mapping the extent of tumors in the lungs is one of the biggest challenges in treating lung-cancer patients,” said Batrakova. “Our results show how powerful exosomes can be as both a therapeutic and a diagnostic.”
Category: Features, Technology & Devices
