Chemotherapy is ‘made THIRD more efficient’ by magnetic nanoparticles

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A chemotherapy technique that uses magnetic nanoparticles to heat cancer cells to more than 104 ° F while delivering THIRD drugs is more efficient, a study shows

  • Cancer cells are exposed to heat and can be targeted by magnetic particles
  • They attach to the tumor cells and a magnetic field causes warming
  • This increases the vulnerability to chemo drugs carried by the nanoparticles

By Joe Pinkstone For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Chemotherapy could be up to 34 percent more effective thanks to a new method that combines the treatment with magnetic particles that scavenge cancer cells.

Researchers at University College London found that the combination of heat drugs and chemo makes the process more efficient.

Tiny nanoparticles attach themselves to tumor cancer cells and also carry the chemotherapy drug.

When doctors apply a harmless magnetic field to the area from the outside of the body it activates the magnetic properties of the nanoparticles and causes them to warm up, heating up the locked cancer cells.

Research shows that this damages the eardrum and makes it more vulnerable to pre-existing drugs.

Chemotherapy is made up to 34 percent more effective thanks to a new method that combines the treatment with magnetic particles that boil the cancerous cells (stock photo)

So far the research has only been confirmed in a laboratory, but researchers say the early findings are important.

Human breast cancer cells, glioblastoma cells (brain cancer), and mouse prostate cancer cells were treated, in a test tube, with this new method.

Doxorubicin – a commonly used chemo drug – was implanted in the magnetic nanoparticles.

Tiny nanoparticles carry the chemotherapy drug and also bind themselves to tumor cancer cells. When doctors apply a harmless magnetic field to the area from the outside of the body, the nanoparticles begin to warm up, heating up the cancerous cells.

Tiny nanoparticles carry the chemotherapy drug and also bind themselves to tumor cancer cells. When doctors apply a harmless magnetic field to the area from the outside of the body, the nanoparticles begin to warm up, heating up the cancerous cells.

The results, peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry B, show promising results for the experimental method.

Heat and doxorubicin together killed 98 percent of brain cancer cells after 48 hours. The drug killed only 73 percent of cells when applied without heat.

For the breast cancer cells, 89 percent of the cancers were eliminated with the mixture, and this drops to just 77 percent for the drug alone.

Senior author Professor Nguyen TK Thanh said: ‘Our study demonstrates the tremendous potential of combining chemotherapy with heat treatment delivered through magnetic nanoparticles.

‘While this combination of treatment has already been agreed for the treatment of rapidly growing glioblastomas, our findings suggest that there is potential for wider use as comprehensive anti-cancer medicine.

This treatment also has the potential to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy, by ensuring that it is more focused on cancer cells than a healthy issue. This needs to be explored in further pre-clinical trials. ‘

WHY IS CHEMO GETTING TO WORK?

Cancer cells may be discovering how to resist chemotherapy.

There are several reasons for this to happen.

The cells that are not killed can turn around and change in response, repairing the DNA that has been damaged by the drug or developing equipment that renders it useless.

Thus, the success of the drugs often depends on the failure of the cancer cell repair mechanisms.

Cancer cells can produce hundreds of copies of a specific gene, called a gene mutation, which stimulates the overproduction of proteins which impairs the effectiveness of treatment.

Sometimes cancer cells are able to push the drug out on its own, using a molecule called p-glycoprotein.

Since chemotherapy is the first line of treatment, it is a major concern when it fails to function.

Professor Workman of the Institute for Cancer Research said: ‘The ability of cancer to adapt, evolve and be resistant to drugs is the leading cause of most deaths from the disease and the biggest challenge ahead in overcoming it. ‘

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