Revolutionary New Cancer Treatment Harnesses Light Therapy (theguardian.com) 29
The Guardian reports:
Scientists have successfully developed a revolutionary cancer treatment that lights up and wipes out microscopic cancer cells, in a breakthrough that could enable surgeons to more effectively target and destroy the disease in patients.
A European team of engineers, physicists, neurosurgeons, biologists and immunologists from the UK, Poland and Sweden joined forces to design the new form of photoimmunotherapy. Experts believe it is destined to become the world's fifth major cancer treatment after surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. The light-activated therapy forces cancer cells to glow in the dark, helping surgeons remove more of the tumours compared with existing techniques — and then kills off remaining cells within minutes once the surgery is complete. In a world-first trial in mice with glioblastoma, one of the most common and aggressive types of brain cancer, scans revealed the novel treatment lit up even the tiniest cancer cells to help surgeons remove them — and then wiped out those left over. Trials of the new form of photoimmunotherapy, led by the Institute of Cancer Research, London, also showed the treatment triggered an immune response that could prime the immune system to target cancer cells in future, suggesting it could prevent glioblastoma coming back after surgery....
The therapy combines a special fluorescent dye with a cancer-targeting compound. In the trial in mice, the combination was shown to dramatically improve the visibility of cancer cells during surgery and, when later activated by near-infrared light, to trigger an anti-tumour effect.
A European team of engineers, physicists, neurosurgeons, biologists and immunologists from the UK, Poland and Sweden joined forces to design the new form of photoimmunotherapy. Experts believe it is destined to become the world's fifth major cancer treatment after surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. The light-activated therapy forces cancer cells to glow in the dark, helping surgeons remove more of the tumours compared with existing techniques — and then kills off remaining cells within minutes once the surgery is complete. In a world-first trial in mice with glioblastoma, one of the most common and aggressive types of brain cancer, scans revealed the novel treatment lit up even the tiniest cancer cells to help surgeons remove them — and then wiped out those left over. Trials of the new form of photoimmunotherapy, led by the Institute of Cancer Research, London, also showed the treatment triggered an immune response that could prime the immune system to target cancer cells in future, suggesting it could prevent glioblastoma coming back after surgery....
The therapy combines a special fluorescent dye with a cancer-targeting compound. In the trial in mice, the combination was shown to dramatically improve the visibility of cancer cells during surgery and, when later activated by near-infrared light, to trigger an anti-tumour effect.
Thanks, Trump! (Score:1, Funny)
They're using light, next thing you know they'll be investigating bleach or some other kind of chemical to treat these very dangerous, very bad diseases. Ask anyone, they will tell you how important it is to have effective treatments for cancer, and we will find them.
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They're using light, next thing you know they'll be investigating bleach or some other kind of chemical to treat these very dangerous, very bad diseases. Ask anyone, they will tell you how important it is to have effective treatments for cancer, and we will find them.
Bleach, no, but the obvious question is this: If they can combine a chemical that is absorbed almost exclusively by cancer cells with something that glows in the dark, is there a reason they can't combine it with something that's actually deadly to the cell instead?
Re: Thanks, Trump! (Score:1)
Haven't you learned? You don't get to ask quesrions about science.
The elected people pick the science people and they tell you what you need to know.
If you're asking questions you are obviously anti-science.
Re: (Score:2)
Mods just have no sense of humor anymore.
Re: (Score:2)
Except it is rsilvergun, he actually believes it.
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Ahhh came here to say this. Of course the TDSers without imagination downvote; they'd all rather die of cancer than let this treatment get tested...just in case it works.
The Obligatory (Score:5, Insightful)
"in mice"
With all the treatments that work in mice why isn't
the globe over run with healthy, long lived rodents?
Re: (Score:2)
Rodents lack free healthcare.
Re: (Score:3)
Except in Chicago. They must have really good health insurance in Chicago, that's the impression I got the last time I was there.
Re: The Obligatory (Score:2)
Because the scientists grind those experimental mice to pieces to see what the effects of the treatment was.
Re: (Score:1)
Obligatory pseudo XKCD. https://twitter.com/jsheltzer/... [twitter.com]
Apparently it is a modification of this one: https://xkcd.com/2456/ [xkcd.com]
Photoimmunotherapy (Score:4, Informative)
Isn't super new. Reference: https://bmccancer.biomedcentra... [biomedcentral.com] https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com] https://www.tandfonline.com/do... [tandfonline.com]
Re: (Score:2)
When did they start doing this? In the 90s or so, wasn't it? That was non-genetic stuff, IIRC, with drugs that accumulate in growing cell walls (or something like that) then zapping the tumours and known metastases (metastasises ?) with the UV lamp, to turn the drug into something horrible. Since then, incremental improvements - including this one.
What was done before, and what is new? (Score:5, Informative)
Gotta love how ICR is taking full credit for coming up with photoimmunotherapy. To be clear:
1. Photoimmunotherapy against cancer? Done before by others in 2012 - Reference: https://bmccancer.biomedcentra... [biomedcentral.com]
2. Photoimmunotherapy with affibodies against cancer cells. Done before by others in 2017 - Reference: https://www.tandfonline.com/do... [tandfonline.com]
3. Photoimmunotherapy with affibodies against specifically brain tumor cells - new at ICR (2018?)
I get skeptical (Score:5, Insightful)
When I see the words "revolutionary" and "breakthrough" in a science article that was probably copied verbatim from a press release issued by a group looking for funding
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Not to mention the use of light--there is so much quack 'medicine' using lights and lasers that it's hard to take it seriously without lots of evidence.
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Would you prefer they said "using chemicals"? They're both almost always true.
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"Not to mention the use of light--there is so much quack 'medicine' using lights and lasers that it's hard to take it seriously without lots of evidence."
These are scientists, their faces even light up each time the open the fridge.
OTOH light attracts bugs, so I hope the operating room has screens.
If it eliminates the left over cells (Score:1)
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IIUC, it doesn't eliminate the cells, it identifies them. This is the same purpose served by almost any stain. It's VERY important, but hardly unique. Some of these methods can be used in situ, others require biopsies. They server slightly different purposes, but they're both important. This one causes the targeted cells to glow instead of turn purple, but it's the same basic idea.
Re: If it eliminates the left over cells (Score:1)
Revolutionary breakthrough (Score:2)
In fact, it's such a revolutionary breakthrough that you'll never hear about it again.
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Many of these things that we "never hear about again", become standard tools in the craft. How many non-programmers do you think associated templates with C++? Other specialties have other widely used techniques that nobody outside the specialty hears about..
Whether this particular tool will become accepted within the specialty is something I don't expect to ever know.
I'll Be Right Back (Score:2)
Alternative medicine (Score:1)
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