US Scientists Create Biodegradable Implants to Trap Cancer Cells From Spreading
by Myron Castillo on September 10, 2015
It is just the size of a small sponge and is capable of mopping up cancer cells when they move across the human body. The device has so far been tested in mice, but it is expected to position itself as an early warning system that can alert doctors about the spread of cancer. The implant also appeared to be capable of stopping the malicious cancer cells from reaching other areas of the body where new tumors could potentially grow. The report appears in Nature Communications
Implant catches cancer cells moving through the body. Image credit: Joseph Xu
According to Cancer Research UK, the spread of the disease was responsible for 9 out of 10 cancer deaths.The biodegradable implant is about 5 mm dia and has already been approved for medical use. The implant has been tested for breast cancer in mice.
It had been shown from experiments that the device, when implanted in abdominal fat or beneath the skin, sucks up cancer cells that had begun circulating in the metabolism. The implant mimics a process in which cells were breaking loose from tumors are attracted to other body parts via the immune cells added the researchers.
Further, the researchers found that the immune cells concentrated around the implant, which is a natural reaction to foreign bodies and drew in the cancer cells in the process. Researchers initially ‘labeled’ the cancer cells so that they could be spotted easily when they lit up. But, when they used another special imaging technique to distinguish between normal and cancerous cells, they noticed that they could detect cancer cells that have been caught in the implant.
Though not expected, the scientists found while measuring cancer cells that already had spread in mice with the implant and without it, that the device could capture the cancer cells and also reduce the presence at other sites.
For long, researchers have been engaged in findings ways to detect the metastasis or spread of cancer at its early stage, but it has been hard to detect the rare cancer cells circulating in the bloodstream.
Prof. Lonnie Shea, the lead author of the study from Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, stated that plans were afoot to carry out the first clinical trial in humans fairly soon. He added that it was now necessary to determine whether the metastatic cells show up in the implant targeted at humans like it happened with mice and further understand if the procedure is safe to use this imaging for detection of cancer cells.
http://www.thetimesgazette.com/us-s...plants-to-trap-cancer-cells-from-spread/7324/
by Myron Castillo on September 10, 2015
It is just the size of a small sponge and is capable of mopping up cancer cells when they move across the human body. The device has so far been tested in mice, but it is expected to position itself as an early warning system that can alert doctors about the spread of cancer. The implant also appeared to be capable of stopping the malicious cancer cells from reaching other areas of the body where new tumors could potentially grow. The report appears in Nature Communications
Implant catches cancer cells moving through the body. Image credit: Joseph Xu
According to Cancer Research UK, the spread of the disease was responsible for 9 out of 10 cancer deaths.The biodegradable implant is about 5 mm dia and has already been approved for medical use. The implant has been tested for breast cancer in mice.
It had been shown from experiments that the device, when implanted in abdominal fat or beneath the skin, sucks up cancer cells that had begun circulating in the metabolism. The implant mimics a process in which cells were breaking loose from tumors are attracted to other body parts via the immune cells added the researchers.
Further, the researchers found that the immune cells concentrated around the implant, which is a natural reaction to foreign bodies and drew in the cancer cells in the process. Researchers initially ‘labeled’ the cancer cells so that they could be spotted easily when they lit up. But, when they used another special imaging technique to distinguish between normal and cancerous cells, they noticed that they could detect cancer cells that have been caught in the implant.
Though not expected, the scientists found while measuring cancer cells that already had spread in mice with the implant and without it, that the device could capture the cancer cells and also reduce the presence at other sites.
For long, researchers have been engaged in findings ways to detect the metastasis or spread of cancer at its early stage, but it has been hard to detect the rare cancer cells circulating in the bloodstream.
Prof. Lonnie Shea, the lead author of the study from Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, stated that plans were afoot to carry out the first clinical trial in humans fairly soon. He added that it was now necessary to determine whether the metastatic cells show up in the implant targeted at humans like it happened with mice and further understand if the procedure is safe to use this imaging for detection of cancer cells.
http://www.thetimesgazette.com/us-s...plants-to-trap-cancer-cells-from-spread/7324/
