Yale Researchers Develop Injection to Treat Skin Cancer
Researchers from Yale are developing an alternative treatment for skin cancer that will involve introducing nanoparticles into a cancerous tumor, thus eliminating the cancer cells in a two-stage approach.
Vice chair and professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine Dr. Michael Girardi stated that for many patients, treating skin cancer was more important than finding an alternative but effective way to treat the disease using a simple method such as an injection. He explained that in dermatology finding an uncomplicated way to treat cancers of the skin such as basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma was like finding the Holy Grail.
The developed treatment involves polymer-based nanoparticles that contain a chemotherapy agent being injected into cancerous tumors. The nanoparticles are bioadhesive, which is the most important part of the treatment. This is because the nanoparticles attach themselves to the tumors and cling, giving the drug enough time to eliminate a significant number of cancerous cells.
The Goizueta Foundation Professor of Chemical, Biomedical and Environmental Engineering Mark Saltzman, who is the study’s co-author, stated that nanoparticles that were introduced into a tumor attached themselves to it remarkably well. Saltzman, who is also a physiology professor, explained that one injection lasted for a relatively long time because the nanoparticles bound themselves to the tumor matrix, slowly releasing the compounds.
During the study, the drug without the nanoparticles was introduced into tumors of control models. The researchers discovered that the tumors decreased in size significantly when the drugs were ferried with nanoparticles as compared to without the nanoparticles.
In addition to this, researchers found that it was critical that the treatment be merged with an agent that revitalized the body’s immune system. Girardi explained that employing a two-stage attack on the cancer helps by not only eliminating cancer cells but also encouraging the immune system to clean up the dead cancer cells while ensuring that it also dealt with any cells that may have not been eliminated.
The researchers stated that using the injection to rid a patient of tumors often meant the patient no longer needed surgery. The injection also decreases the risks of wound infections and other complications. Additionally, patients who have pre-existing medical conditions may not be suitable for surgery. This injection would provide an alternative treatment option. Furthermore, skin cancer therapy using injections would mean that patients could have more than one tumor treated at once.
The researchers’ findings were reported in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
Still on the subject of research findings applied to commercial use, CannAssist International Corp. (OTCQB: CNSC) currently markets five creams that contain ingredients that have FDA registration codes.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CannAssist International Corp. (OTCQB: CNSC) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CNSC
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the BioMedWire website applicable to all content provided by BMW, wherever published or re-published: http://BMW.fm/Disclaimer
Researchers from Yale are developing an alternative treatment for skin cancer that will involve introducing nanoparticles into a cancerous tumor, thus eliminating the cancer cells in a two-stage approach.
Vice chair and professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine Dr. Michael Girardi stated that for many patients, treating skin cancer was more important than finding an alternative but effective way to treat the disease using a simple method such as an injection. He explained that in dermatology finding an uncomplicated way to treat cancers of the skin such as basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma was like finding the Holy Grail.
The developed treatment involves polymer-based nanoparticles that contain a chemotherapy agent being injected into cancerous tumors. The nanoparticles are bioadhesive, which is the most important part of the treatment. This is because the nanoparticles attach themselves to the tumors and cling, giving the drug enough time to eliminate a significant number of cancerous cells.
The Goizueta Foundation Professor of Chemical, Biomedical and Environmental Engineering Mark Saltzman, who is the study’s co-author, stated that nanoparticles that were introduced into a tumor attached themselves to it remarkably well. Saltzman, who is also a physiology professor, explained that one injection lasted for a relatively long time because the nanoparticles bound themselves to the tumor matrix, slowly releasing the compounds.
During the study, the drug without the nanoparticles was introduced into tumors of control models. The researchers discovered that the tumors decreased in size significantly when the drugs were ferried with nanoparticles as compared to without the nanoparticles.
In addition to this, researchers found that it was critical that the treatment be merged with an agent that revitalized the body’s immune system. Girardi explained that employing a two-stage attack on the cancer helps by not only eliminating cancer cells but also encouraging the immune system to clean up the dead cancer cells while ensuring that it also dealt with any cells that may have not been eliminated.
The researchers stated that using the injection to rid a patient of tumors often meant the patient no longer needed surgery. The injection also decreases the risks of wound infections and other complications. Additionally, patients who have pre-existing medical conditions may not be suitable for surgery. This injection would provide an alternative treatment option. Furthermore, skin cancer therapy using injections would mean that patients could have more than one tumor treated at once.
The researchers’ findings were reported in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
Still on the subject of research findings applied to commercial use, CannAssist International Corp. (OTCQB: CNSC) currently markets five creams that contain ingredients that have FDA registration codes.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CannAssist International Corp. (OTCQB: CNSC) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CNSC
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the BioMedWire website applicable to all content provided by BMW, wherever published or re-published: http://BMW.fm/Disclaimer
