A team of researchers form Mayo Clinic had recently developed a tumor-shrinking nanoparticle that brings new hope to curing cancer. These nanoparticles were designed to cure breast cancer tumors and to prevent the recurrence of the disease as well.
The study, which was published in Nature Nanotechnology, showed a 70 to 80 percent reduction of the tumor size when the nanoparticles were injected to a mice. The mice that were treated with the nanoparticles also showed resistance to future tumor recurrence even when exposed to cancer cells.
The newly designed nanoparticles produced potent anti-tumor immune responses to HER2-positive breast cancers as the results show. Breast cancers which possess a higher level of HER2 proteins are known to expand aggressively and quickly than those without the mutation.
According to News Medical, nanoparticles are greatly used in various fields, mostly in biomedical, optical and electronic fields. These particles have very large surface area compared to their volume, so they are often able to react very quickly. This makes them useful as stimulants to speed up reactions.
This nanoparticle was developed by Dr. Kim and her team and is a patented technology with Mayo Clinic Ventures. Dr. Kim named the nanoparticles "Multivalent Bi-specific Nano-Bioconjugate Engager".
The nanoparticles are coated with antibodies that target the HER2 receptors as well as molecules which accelerate the body's nonspecific, clean-up cells in the immune system that absorbs and destroy any foreign material, the nanoparticles simply clear up the abnormal cancer cells.
Another Study from the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine also utilized nanoparticles which target breast cancer. However, unlike the previous one, these nanoparticles aid the treatment resistance of breast cancer patients, making the existing treatment more effective as reported by Science Daily.
The team aims to further explore the ability of the nanoparticles in preventing long-term recurrence of tumors, also including the metastases at areas that are distant from the primary tumor. What's more, the nanoparticles are developed to be modular, meaning it could import molecules to fight other diseases.
