Cancer breakthrough
Posted Apr 21, 2010 8:12 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Scientists believe they may have made a breakthrough in using gene therapy to treat cancerous tumours.
BBC News reports, Scottish researchers have identified a technique for delivering genes to “hard-to-reach” tumours without harming health tissue.
During lab tests, the “seek-and-destroy” therapy caused an incredible 90% of skin cancer tumours to vanish.
Scientists at the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences say they were able to get the gene therapy to where it was needed by using the plasma protein ‘transferrin,’ which carries iron through the blood.
The team is now investigating the technique’s effectiveness at treating different forms of the disease.
The research has been published in the latest edition of the Journal of Controlled Release.
