By IANS,
Tel Aviv : Even after tumours are surgically removed, they have a nasty way of coming back despite a heavy dose of chemotherapy or radiation. Researchers are now stacking the odds in favour of permanent tumour destruction and immunity against its return, reveals a study.
Based on tumour ablation — a process through which the tumour is destroyed inside the body, researchers Yona Keisari and Itzhak Kelson at Tel Aviv University (TAU) have developed a radioactive wire the size of a pin which, when inserted into a solid tumour, releases lethal radioactive atoms that irradiate the tumour from the inside out, the journal Translational Research reports.
“As it breaks down, the tumour releases antigens which trigger an immune response against the cancerous cells,” explained Keisari, professor in medicine at TAU. Kelson is professor in physics at TAU.
Not only are cancerous cells more reliably destroyed, but in the majority of cases the body develops immunity against the return of the tumour, a rare happening when the tumour is removed surgically, according to a university statement.
Currently cancer patients receive gamma radiation when they undergo radiation therapy.
Although alpha particles are much more effective, their range is so short that they are unable to penetrate the skin, and therefore ineffective in traditional radiation treatments.
As developed in Kelson’s lab, the radioactive wire circumvents the drawbacks of alpha radiation by implanting radioactive ions directly into the tumour.
The treatment called DaRTTM (Diffusing Alpha-emitters Radiation Therapy), has now been commercialized by Althera Medical Ltd., co-located in Tel Aviv and New York City, and will soon undergo clinical trials at Beilinson Hospital in Israel.