One of the factors that detract from the prognosis in a cancer diagnosis, is the spreading to other organs. Spreading to other organs is known as metastasising. The team of scientists behind the study has experimented with nanotechnology, which used tiny materials that, in short, inhibit the cancer cells’ ability to move or as the scientists say: “…break the cancer cells legs, because if they can’t move the cancer can’t spread”.
In the case of a local tumour that hasn’t spread yet, the chance of being cured is better and the mortality lower. In the case of metastasised cancer, the prognosis is significantly worse. The new treatment option works locally, and prevents the cancer from spreading to other organs. Since the treatment is administered locally, it is less taxing on the body and can be used over a longer period of time, if necessary.
Normally, the cells move with tiny feet called filopodia. The difference between healthy and cancerous cells are, among other things, that the latter has developed more feet. This modification enables the cells to wander to other places in the body, should the original environment prove unfavourable for the cancer cells.
Following a series of experiments, the scientists discovered that if they shot the cancer cells with low-energy lasers, their ability to move could be inhibited completely. The method functions by heating and melting the cancers cells’ “feet”, thereby preventing them from moving.
“This laser treatment is neither harmful nor dangerous to the skin and tissue surrounding the cancer cells and can be used multiple times to achieve the best result”, explains the scientist Ronhu Wu.
According to the National Cancer Institute, metastasising is the primary reason for the high mortality rate of cancer. Furthermore, metastasised cancer cells are capable of lying dormant for years and become active again later. Some forms of cancer present a great challenge, since they often spread to the surrounding tissue, making treatment difficult. In treatment of metastasising forms of cancer, the primary goal is often to inhibit the spread, however, this hasn’t been possible previously. The organs, most susceptible to the spreading, are bones, liver, and lungs.
Even though the research is still in progress, the team of scientists have presented promising results and they expect this form of treatment to be beneficial for patients with head, neck, breast, and skin cancer, by giving local injections. Cancer found deeper within the body could be treated with fibre or endoscopic laser treatment.
