Health
Nanoparticle platform shows promise against glioblastoma in mouse study
Researchers developed a material that illuminates hidden cancer cells during surgery and destroys remaining cells using light.
The short version
- Researchers from UTS, Harvard, and Henan universities created a nanoparticle platform to assist in glioblastoma surgery and follow-up phototherapy.
- In preclinical mouse models, the treatment reduced tumor recurrence and resulted in a 100 percent survival rate at 60 days.
- The technology must undergo human clinical trials to evaluate its safety and efficacy in patients.
Key facts
- Scientists from the University of Technology Sydney, Harvard, and Henan universities designed a single nanoparticle material that acts as both a fluorescent imaging agent and a phototherapy agent.[ScienceDaily]
- Under near-infrared light, the material glows to highlight glioblastoma cell clusters as small as 44 micrometers to guide surgeons.[ScienceDaily]
- Post-surgery, near-infrared light activates the nanoparticles inside the cavity to produce heat and reactive molecules that kill remaining microscopic cancer cells.[ScienceDaily]
- In mouse models, treated subjects achieved 100 percent survival at 60 days compared to 42 days for those given surgery alone, with no detected neurological or motor defects.[ScienceDaily]
What remains uncertain
- The platform has only been evaluated in animal models, and its therapeutic and imaging performance in human brains remains untested.[ScienceDaily]
Sources
- Smart nanoparticles light up brain cancer and destroy what surgery missesScienceDaily - Science