Calif. HS student devises possible cancer cure

(CBS News) 

If you ever worry about the future of America, there is no need: it is in good hands. A high school student named Angela is proof of that. We think you'll agree she is nothing short of amazing. CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman met her on the road.

Born to Chinese immigrants, 17-year-old Angela Zhang of Cupertino, California is a typical American teenager. She's really into shoes and is just learning how to drive.

But there is one thing that separates her from every other student at Monta Vista High School, something she first shared with her chemistry teacher, Kavita Gupta.

It's a research paper Angela wrote in her spare time -- and it is advanced, to say the least. Gupta says all she knows is its recipe -- for curing cancer.

"Cure for cancer -- a high school student," said Gupta. "It's just so mind-boggling. I just cannot even begin to comprehend how she even thought about it or did this."

"I just thought, 'Why not?' 'What is there to lose?'" said Angela.

When she was a freshman, she started reading doctorate level papers on bio-engineering.

"At first it was a little bit overwhelming," said Angela, "but I found that it almost became like a puzzle, being able to decode something."

By sophomore year she'd talked her way into the lab at Stanford, and by junior year was doing her own research.

In a lab area, Hartman asked Angela: "Try and make it for a feeble mind, such as this one, to understand."

Angela: "So I made something that's an iron-oxide, gold dangle...

Hartman: "You lost me." (laughter)

Eventually, here's what he did get.

Angela's idea was to mix cancer medicine in a polymer that would attach to nanoparticles -- nanoparticles that would then attach to cancer cells and show up on an MRI. so doctors could see exactly where the tumors are. Then she thought shat if you aimed an infrared light at the tumors to melt the polymer and release the medicine, thus killing the cancer cells while leaving healthy cells completely unharmed.

"I think it was more of a -- 'This is really cool, I want to see if it works' -- type thing," she said.

"And when you found out it did..." asked Hartman.

"That was pretty amazing."

It'll take years to know if it works in humans -- but in mice -- the tumors almost completely disappeared.

Angela recently entered her project in the national Siemens science contest. It was no contest. She got a check for $100,000 and promptly bought about a dozen more pairs of shoes.

"I got these shoes because they're purple and I didn't have purple yet," she explained.

Easy to forget, she is still high school. It's just her dreams that keep graduating.

"I'm excited to learn just everything possible," she said. "Everything in the sciences -- biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, even computer science -- to make new innovations possible."

Pretty big flats to fill. How will she top her cancer discovery? We can't wait.

[PIONEER1954]

I hope no one is in a hurry for this cure. By the time the archaic and bureaucratic 19th century FDA is through fiddling around and releases it we'll all be in the happy hunting ground.

[Rafterman11]

Incredible. This student does some amazing research (and I don't care if her idea has been looked at before by others). Its great initiative and an encouraging sign that not all kids all unmotivated losers. But of course, in America these days, all people can do is find fault with everything and bash it. So sad.

[tyblossom]

I would like to see terminal patients be able to pick a treatment like this if they want. Like anyone with stage 3 or 4 should have the option to try something like this that isn't approved yet. It's silly to me to just let them die if they have an interest in trying something not approved.

[Steve4721076]

This is really fantastic - I hope by accepting the 100K scholarship that she (her discovery) is not now owned by the company that gave her the scholarship, else the "cure " will take many many many years to "research" before it goes on the market for a gazillion dollars a treatment. Haven't you ever wondered why we have SO MUCH money going into cancer treatment and virtually no significant advances coming out -- Ohhh Yeah, they will claim research -- with the money that has gone into research one could easily buy the most advanced research facility and staff it with the best doctors in the world for a thousand years. However, no one ever asks "where does all the money go". For that you need to look at the company stock. You think this is just one more frustrated rant, not really. A friend of mine at a national university, working on her Phd, developed a cure for two types of cancer which she repeatedly demonstrated on animals -- it worked. Well the university pulled her off it and demanded (and received) all of her notes and research. They sold the research to a "drug company" and it has never been heard from again. Ohhh yeah, the university did let her graduate. I am willing to bet any reader that this discovery will soon go away, never to be heard from again. There is just too much money involved in cancer to let it be cured. Sorry to be so cynical.

[Deus_ex_CoffeeCup]

Oh COME ON, please tell me your friend still has her own copy of this research. Or don't tell me since legally she is suppose to have given it all up. If she has no chance of having her research used for good then she should release it anonymously online, for free, find a buyer, I don't know. Please don't tell me she passively gave everything away, blindly trusting a big pharmaceutical company.

[lablll1]

I have heard from a couple of sources, not in the US of course, that cancer is caused by a mold or fungus. It however interesting how little research, at least that I have heard, is being done to find the causative agent. As others have noted cancer is a multi-billion dollar industry. I fear for this girls life.

[anondonteatmyfaceoffO_O]

O_O uhm cauative agents are called carcinogens and theres a long list of known carcinogens..just saying~ xP look into it..its actually kinda cool

[Pretzelpod]

WOW! What a thief!!! This idea has already been thought of YEARS AGO! They guy actually found a way to make seawater burn as a side result!

[RPRx]

Actually she took that concept from another home-made cancer curer. * #John Kanzius '* approach was tested and proven in 2005. She's a shill that should have the money taken away, which would also bring to light the actual research and findings of the man that came up with the idea and had it proven.

Once again the field of science in our society disappoints me.

[Zann-Zel]

Just a simple Thank You to Angela.

[blue922]

Corporations are NOT people, they are more like cancer.

[pen_thief]

I applaud her for her intelligence and determination.
However, there is a lot of corruption in the cancer research industry and she will soon discover this if she hasn't already. Cancer is a billion dollar industry - my mom was diagnosed last month and already has 5 different doctors involved. The only options they gave her were surgery, radiation therapy and a $800 chemo pill. (Yes, $800 per pill...a pill which hinders the growth of white blood cells needed to kill cancer, and therefore ups her risk of getting a secondary cancer.)

Furthermore, I want to know why most research focuses on what to do once you get it, rather than preventing it from happening at all. I don't believe we'll see this anytime soon, as it's not profitable to tell people to stop stressing, eat broccoli, stop smoking and exercise more. It's not profitable to tell people to follow the Budwig diet, except maybe for Barlean's flax oil company, who even offer discounts to cancer patients.

I also think the mind has been erased from conventional medicine, which is a huge mistake. Fear, anxiety and stress have such a huge impact on the immune system. We as a culture have equated stress with being responsible, when in fact it kills us. This is the one factor that even people with healthy diets ignore.

I hope her research will be of help to those who have already gotten cancer, but I want to know why we're getting cancer more than ever (as well as diabetes, heart disease, etc.) in the first place, and hardly any research focuses on PREVENTION.

[closethippy1]

I managed a health food store for ten years and had my share of anti-docotrs maniacs who really think a "healthy" and "wholesome" diet along with herbs and vitamins and all that good stuff will help "prevent" or even "cure" cancer.
The saddest cases were customers who had cancer and absolutely refused to see doctors and put all their faith on a vegan diet and thousands of dollars worth of herbs and vitamins. I saw them die one after the other no matter how hard they tried with "natural" and "alternative" medicine.
I truly don't understand this anti- "cancer research industry" conspiracy theory. These folks are trying their hardest to solve the problem and I think it's an insult to insinuate otherwise.
The "health food" industry is the one to be treated with suspicion, especially when they make outrageous claims. I'm glad I'm not in that business anymore.
And, btw, cancer rates have gone down and not up as you claim.

[Steinrik]

Thanks, closethippy1, for an answer I have been looking for for some time! Herbs and healthy food is a good thing, but when this was our only option and no medisins were around people still died of cancer and other deceases, and often in fare worse ways than today! They had extremely limited ways of dealing with the the illnesses of their time, the few things they had was prayer, herbs and som very crude enad often ineffective pain relief methods. It must have been hell, literally! MEDICIN IS A GOOD THING, I really dont understand why so many people has to make all kinds of faerytails and stupid conspiracy theories about it! The research industry makes a lot of money, AND THEY SHOULD! It is EXTREMELY costly and timeconsuming to developE new medicins and threatment methods, so even if the medical industry has its flaws, as every other industry, its a good thing the companies can make enough money to further develop medicin in the future. Millions of people benefit from medical research every day, and, I hope, will for a long time to come. The late Steve Jobs would, I think, agree holeheartedly as he died because he resisted socalled conventional medicin until it was to late for him to get the treatment that would have saved his life. I believe the conspiracy theorists has a great deal of responsibility for stopping people from getting conventional medical treatment in time for it to do them good! (I hope you get what I'm trying to say as English is not my primary language :-) )