Cancer has become one of the most common causes of deaths around the world. Man, woman, old and young -- all these can fall victim to cancer and all its many forms. This is the reason why the quest for a cure for cancer has been going on for years. New studies reveal that they may just have found the cancer zapper that everyone can't wait to try.
A group of scientists and researchers from the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences have successfully come up with a laser machine that could help track down the cancer cells in the body. What's even better about this laser machine is that it will be able to kill them without surgery. It can do all of these by mere skin exposure. It must be a first in cancer treatment that is totally non-invasive.
"This new technology can significantly stop the progression of metastasis," said Vladinir Zharov, primary author of the study. His paper was recently published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. "The idea behind this research project is to find the cancer cells in the body and target them before they can metastasize. Once it has spread through the body, the treatment for the cancer might become more complex.
The primary cause of all cancer-related deaths is the fact that the detection of the cancer cells was only possible when they have already spread or metastasize. If this laser is able to detect the presence of cancer cells in particular parts of the body, treatment would be given fast and that could put an end to what could be a lifetime of medication and treatments.
The process with the laser is that the skin is exposed to it. Then, it will detect which parts of the body has what will seem like a concentration of cancer cells. Once these cells that have been detected, they will be exposed to extreme heat energy than what the healthy cells are getting. The heat will cause these cells to expand and eventually collapse.
"The use of lasers in cancer treatment has revolutionized not only the diagnosis of the disease but its treatment as well. However the size of these laser machines come in large which basically is the reason why they are prevent from being used for treatment at a cellular level," said Zharov in a statement. "In one patient, we were able to target and destroy 96 tumor cells and the laser was not even in its max power yet."
According to Zharov, this laser machine used to detect and kills cancer cells isn't really the first of its kind. However, it is one of the first that was ever tested in humans. A number of devices have been introduced in the market including the wrist-worn devise to help detect cancer. It was something that was put together by researchers from the University of Michigan.
However, this new laser device proves to be more helpful considering it can scan a liter of blood in an hour. It is the quicker way to know where cancer cells are and target them to ensure total wipe out.
