A New Frontier In The War On Cancer

Behind The Scenes With Cancer Researchers Fine-Tuning Nanotechnologies

(CBS)  The same technology behind computer chips, stain-proof fabrics and bacteria-resistant teddy bears is now being used to create new weapons in the war on cancer, CBS News' Dr. Emily Senay reports.

"I think I'm more excited about this than probably anything I've seen in my lifetime," said Dr. Anna Barker, deputy director of the National Cancer Institute. She's talking about nanotechnology, nano meaning one-billionth of a meter - or less than 1/80,000 the width of a human hair.

Researchers are engineering these tiny particles to seek out and destroy cancer cells.

"We can actually get things into cells and manipulate things within the cells that means that we can deliver drugs to cells very specifically," Barker said.

The government has made nanotechnology a major priority, spending $144 million to fund eight research centers, like one in Boston at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Here's the targeted nano-particle. Shrinks the tumor to pretty much nothing," TK said.

Bob Langer is developing a nanoparticle delivery system. Inside, the particle is loaded with cancer-killing drugs. Outside, it's coated with proteins that send the drug directly to prostate-cancer cells.

"Once we do the coating right it hopefully goes to where we want it to go," Langer, who works at the MIT-Harvard Center of Cancer Nanotechnology, said.

"It's like a little address that could basically say, 'go here,'" Langer said.

Like a silver bullet, the nanoparticle hits and releases toxins inside cancerous cells. The goal is to spare normal tissues and avoid the side effects common to most chemotherapies.

"You're giving a lot of drug right to the part of the body where you want it to go to and very, very little to the rest of the body where it could cause harm," Langer said.

This technology can be applied to different kinds of cancers, and different kinds of treatments. It really has a tremendous potential to be revolutionary in the way we treat patients and the way we treat cancer.

At Johns Hopkins, George Sgouros is researching nanoparticles packed with radioactivity.

"We're targeting disease you don't really see initially, in a very direct way, we're actually delivering the radioactivity to the patient from within," Sgouros said.

Physician and MIT researcher Sangeeta Bhatia is working on her own do-it-all nanoparticle - one that could detect, kill and monitor cancer cells all at once.

"That particle would image and treat tumors," Bhatia said.

So it would show the doctor where the tumor is?

"And then kill tumors, that's the idea," Bhatia said.

"The beauty of nanotechnology is that it really allows us to get at the complexity of the disease," Barker said. "Sounds a little Star Wars right but we've got people actually doing this."

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For more information on nanotechnology and cancer, check out the National Cancer Institute's Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer here.

[glock4me]

Lots of advances in cancer treatment, but even so it sounds like all the kings horses and all the kings men can''t save Ted Kennedy.

[gaye5]

Hey, it must be time for the cancer funds to be asking the public for more money. Every time they have a fund raising they come out with all these new so called cures, well I have friends who are scientists and one of them has found two cures, but where are they now??? no where...her finds were written up in the medical magazine and everything..

[rational_1]

They just don''''t care about anything, even themselves.
Posted by drivelphobe at 04:29 PM : May 23, 2008

That''s the problem with a lot of Americans - ''I have a problem, but you fix it.'' Everyone screams about their rights, but no one ever likes to talk about their responsibilities. Yes people lots of people get ill through no fault of their own, but many more have been knowing parties to their illnesses.

That last poster made it sound like tax money is completely wasted if it goes to the form of NIH research grants, because the medical profession never cures anything. Well, first off, biology is complicated - if you think it''s easy to cure anything, be my guest and apply yourself. First you actually have to fully understand a disease before you can rationally attempt to cure it. Egs., what causes Alzheimers or why do dopaminergic cells die in Parkinsons? This takes time. Secondly, if you really think no progress is being made, think about whether you''d rather get cancer or Parkinsons, need a transplant, or get a myriad of other diseases today or in the 1960''s.

[talkingham]

Speaking of fat perhaps the biggest health scam of all are so-called low-fat oils, high frutose corn syrup and just about every veggie oil your fried foods are soaked in.

The overwhelming number of oils used to fry foods are rancid from shortly after the bottle is opened. Low fat oils have no natural preservative qualities (with a few exceptions that don''t matter).

You are much better off eating butter, coconut oils and animal fats than the rancid slop found in almost every packaged food. Run a search on the "oiling of America" if you want to read some valuable info- why do you think the food industry had the testimony struck from the Congressional record 25 years ago when Mary Enig pointed what a disaster trans fats were and were to remain for 25 years after her testimony.

Remeber all of those cardiovascular "specialists" who told their patients to eat margarines composed almost totally of trans fats- yeah they were real smart, they killed hundreds of thousands of people and the news media sat on their tails as usuual.

[drivelphobe]

rational_1

Good post. The American populace is overwhelmingly disgusting in appearance due to their plump to obese bodies. They can''t even walk properly due to the additional weight. When you add the smoking (Yuk) and alcohol consumption, you get a herd of low-functioning, repulsive, human beings that are actually valueless and add nothing to society but grief and a budget-breaking strain on our medical delivery system, including the Medicare and particularly the Medicaid system.

They just don''t care about anything, even themselves.

[rational_1]

MEDICAL INDUSTRY!
QUIT TREATING ILLNESS AND CURE IT!
CURE SOMETHING! ANYTHING!
PROVE TO AMERICA YOU ARE WORTH THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WE SPEND ON YOU EACH YEAR!
AMERICA DEMAND MORE!
STAND UP OR SHUT UP!
Posted by bluestardad at 06:00 AM : May 23, 2008

America! Get off your fat a$$es and exercise more. Lose some weight - no, actually many of you need to lose a lot of weight. Stop eating all that *** that gives you diabetes. While you''re at it, cut back on the drinking and stop smoking the cigarettes that are giving you lung cancer. This will prevent many of your diseases and thus decrease your reliance on the medical industry.
STAND UP AND GET SOME EXERCISE OR SHUT UP

[jboxton]

If you think they haven''t found a way to cure cancer you are blind. They just want to find a way to treat it so they can make more off the drugs.

[bluestardad]

MEDICAL INDUSTRY!

QUIT TREATING ILLNESS AND CURE IT!

CURE SOMETHING! ANYTHING!

PROVE TO AMERICA YOU ARE WORTH THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WE SPEND ON YOU EACH YEAR!


AMERICA DEMAND MORE!

STAND UP OR SHUT UP!