Scientists discover a way to target & destroy cancer cells:
Categories: SCIENCE NEWS
The world is bringing in new solutions and treatments for deadly diseases every day and Cancer, undoubtedly, is one of the deadliest diseases. Scientists at UCL have created a breakthrough cancer therapy that guides magnetic seeds inside the brain to heat up and destroy tumours using an MRI scanner.The study has been published in the journal 'Advanced Science`' This therapy, which was shown to work in mice, is called "minimally invasive image-guided ablation" or MINIMA. It includes a ferromagnetic thermoseed that is navigated to a tumour using magnetic propulsion gradients generated by an MRI scanner, before being heated remotely to kill cancer cells nearby. Senior author, Professor Mark Lythgoe (UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging) said: "MINIMA is a new MRI-guided therapy that has the potential to avoid traditional side effects by precisely treating the tumour without harming healthy tissues. Because the heating seed is magnetic, the magnetic fields in the MRI scanner can be used to remotely steer the seed through tissue to the tumour. Once at the tumour, the seed can then be heated, destroying the cancer cells, while causing limited damage to surrounding healthy tissues." In their study, the UCL team demonstrated the three key elements of MINIMA to a high degree of accuracy: precise seed imaging; navigation of brain tissue using a tailored MRI system; and eradication of a tumour by heating it in a mouse mode. Magnetic thermoseeds are round with a diameter of 2 millimeters; made of metal alloy, and are implanted superficially before they are navigated to the tumour. Professor Lythgoe added: "We are now able to image and navigate a thermoseed in real-time through the brain using an MRI scanner. As MRI is already used to detect the boundaries of cancers, the seed can be moved precisely to ensure it does not stray into surrounding healthy tissue. As the seed is guided through the tissue it can be heated to destroy the cancer. This combines therapy and diagnosis into a single device, creating a completely new class of imaging therapy."