Nanotechnology Against Cancer, Scientists Go Deeper

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Using nanotechnology in combating cancer cells made more exciting possibilities that includes destroying cancer tumors without harming or damaging healthy tissues and organs as well as detection and elimination of cancer cells before they form tumors.

According to Science Mag, immune sentries, also known a T-cells, normally functions to protect the body from any suspicious targets such as bacteria and potential tumor cells. When the T-cells detects any threats, it will alarm other immune cells to mount a greater response. However, tumor cells often over uses other proteins of the normal cells that stops T-cells to activate the immune system's function.

Pharmaceutical companies developed antibody proteins to block the overexpressed protein production of the normal cells by the tumor cells, and enable the immune system to target tumors. Thus, large number of T-cells will appear to the vicinity of the tumor or to the site where tumor undergo mutations and creates additional targets for immune sentries. Then, T-cells will signal a full-fledge immune response to the cancer and destroys it.

Jedd Wolchok, a cancer immunotherapy expert at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, said that aside from the advances made by pharma companies to create potent anti-tumors, existing cancer immunotherapy drugs only work 20% to 30% of patients. In some cases, the active T-cells present are only too few around the tumor to activate immune response and in others, tumors do not display enough tumor antigens (T-cell targets).

In Understanding Nano, companies such as The Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, is fostering innovation and collaboration among researchers to resolve some major challenges in using nanotechnology to cancer.

One treatment under development involves targeted chemotherapy that deliver TNF or Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha to cancer tumors. Using nanoparticles, where TNF is attached, along with Thiol-derivatized polyethylene glycol (PEG-THIOL), the TNF bearing nanoparticles hides from the immune system allowing it to flow in the blood stream without detection and being attacked.

Other treatment technique also involves heat in destroying tumors. By using infrared light, nanoparticle Auroshells absorbs the light from the laser and convert it to heat, destroying cancer tumors.

Also, in the article posted in Latinos Health last December 30, 2016, Parker Research Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and the Cancer Research Institute are focusing on neoantigens. They believe that neoantigens may hold the key to developing a new generation of personalized targeted cancer immunotherapies. Neoantigens are will set a mark for the immune system to target cancer / tumor cells.

Aside from these, human trials are still set to be done. Jedd Wolchok said that the Chicago team of scientists and experts have already formed a company called Coordination Pharmaceuticals, which was made to raise funds to launch an early stage trial in humans for the next several months.