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ON
NANO
AND
GENE
THERAPY
FOR
CANCER
CURE:
STILL
A
LONG
AND ARDUOUS
ROAD
AHEAD
Despite the tremendous impact
on
human lives, our knowledge on
the
mechanism of cancer process
is
scanty. Our current treatments are not specific enough, e.9., chemotherapy
kills
all dividing
cells
regardless.
lnvestigative technology currently undertaken includes nano-technology
and gene
therapy.
Nano-technol-
ogy
is
basically
a
palliative procedure,
i.e.,
it
would
not be able to cure the
cancer
patient
treated. Nevefiheless,
the symptoms are
relieved and
the quality of life,
improved. At
the Charite Hospital,
Belin,
magnetic
nano-
capsules
for
cancer
treatment
had been
tried
in animals. After
these
minute capsules
containing
iron oxide
had been injected,
a
variable magnetic field
was
exerted to direct these tiny capsules to the cancer site and
chemical
reactions
generated enough
heat to
kill
cancer cells but
not
the surrounding
normal
tissues.
ln
China, a magnetic anti-cancer drugs
could
be
directed
to act
effectively on implanted
liver cancers in mice. "Biological missiles" with
monoclonal antibodies and nano-type anti-can-
cer
drugs
may also
be
directed to
tumors. Gene
therapy
would
kill
only cancer cells,
sparing
nor-
mal cells and
is
gradually coming on as a new
modality. "Gleevec"
targets
inhibition of signal
transduction
-
very specific for certain cancers,
e.9., gastro-intestinal stromal tumors and
pa-
tients with
chronic myeloid
leukemia.
Unfortunately,
there is still
a
long way
to
go
before
cancer can
be cured entirely.
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