New Delhi, Sep 4 (IANS) Research conducted by an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, Mohali, has revealed that nanoparticles and heat-based cancer treatment can help reduce the dose of chemotherapy and reduce its side effects.
The research team developed an effective magnetic hyperthermia-based cancer therapy by combining MDs (magnetic nanoparticles) with heat shock protein 90 inhibitors in low doses. In this therapy, an attempt was made to target cancer cells by combining magnetic hyperthermia and chemotherapy.
“The team used a rat model to study its effects. This combination caused more glioma cells to die. Within 8 days, this treatment was successful in suppressing tumors by 65 percent at the primary tumor site and 53 percent at the secondary tumor site,” the study published in the journal ACS Nano said.
The team said that as cancer rates rise worldwide, the need for new treatment methods is also becoming important.
The team said this new method had fewer side effects. It also reduced the amount of chemotherapy needed, making the treatment safer and more effective.
Chemotherapy and surgery, on the other hand, are conventional treatments that have various limitations ranging from drug resistance to severe side effects.
The research team studied the role of the HSP90 gene, which is activated during heat stress, and blocked HSP90 using a drug called 17-DMAG, which prevented cells from repairing heat damage, causing tumor cells to die.
“Extensive global research is needed to realize the clinical application of the new therapy, potentially leading to the development of an adjuvant or alternative cancer therapy,” the team said.
The advantage of this new therapy is that it can help stimulate the immune system, thereby increasing the body’s resistance against cancer. Apart from this, it opens a new way to fight this dreaded disease.
-IANS
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