分子“特洛伊木马”击败肿瘤细胞
NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters Health) - New York researchers have developed a molecular "nanogenerator" that homes in on cancer cells to release atomic particles that destroy them.
The experimental therapy has proven effective against several different kinds of cancer in the test tube, and researchers hope to begin human trials of the approach next year.
The therapy is "a new concept in that we use antibodies to deliver a molecule-sized device that makes radioisotopes at or inside the tumor cell," the study's senior author, Dr. David A. Scheinberg of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, told Reuters Health.
, http://www.100md.com
These antibodies are attracted to cancer cells and act as a Trojan horse by bringing the nanogenerator into cancer cells. Once inside a cancer cell, the nanogenerator, which consists of a single radioactive atom called actinium-225, emits atomic fragments called alpha particles.
Although alpha particles are "very potent" at killing cells, they only travel short distances, Scheinberg explained.
"The aim is to increase killing of the tumor without damaging surrounding cells," he said.
, 百拇医药
So far, the approach has been successful in laboratory tests involving samples of cancer cells, Scheinberg's team reports in the November 16th issue of Science. The nanogenerators destroyed leukemia, lymphoma, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, neuroblastoma and prostate cancer cells.
Animal tests of the therapy were also encouraging. A single dose slowed down tumor growth and prolonged survival in a considerable proportion of mice with lymphoma or prostate cancer, the report indicates. Scheinberg and his colleagues did not detect any toxic side effects of the treatment in mice.
, 百拇医药
The authors point out that the generators that produce the alpha particles are extraordinarily powerful, making treatment possible with low doses. This not only would limit patients' exposure to radioactivity, but could also keep treatment costs under control, according to the researchers.
Despite the promising findings, proof of the therapy's safety and effectiveness awaits the results of human clinical trials. Scheinberg's group plans to submit a proposed trial to the US Food and Drug Administration in early 2002.
Scheinberg said it is too early to know how the therapy would be used in people, but it could potentially become part of combination therapy for cancer.
"If it is useful alone, it is likely to be used with other effective approaches, too," he said.
SOURCE: Science 2001;294:1537-1540., 百拇医药
The experimental therapy has proven effective against several different kinds of cancer in the test tube, and researchers hope to begin human trials of the approach next year.
The therapy is "a new concept in that we use antibodies to deliver a molecule-sized device that makes radioisotopes at or inside the tumor cell," the study's senior author, Dr. David A. Scheinberg of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, told Reuters Health.
, http://www.100md.com
These antibodies are attracted to cancer cells and act as a Trojan horse by bringing the nanogenerator into cancer cells. Once inside a cancer cell, the nanogenerator, which consists of a single radioactive atom called actinium-225, emits atomic fragments called alpha particles.
Although alpha particles are "very potent" at killing cells, they only travel short distances, Scheinberg explained.
"The aim is to increase killing of the tumor without damaging surrounding cells," he said.
, 百拇医药
So far, the approach has been successful in laboratory tests involving samples of cancer cells, Scheinberg's team reports in the November 16th issue of Science. The nanogenerators destroyed leukemia, lymphoma, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, neuroblastoma and prostate cancer cells.
Animal tests of the therapy were also encouraging. A single dose slowed down tumor growth and prolonged survival in a considerable proportion of mice with lymphoma or prostate cancer, the report indicates. Scheinberg and his colleagues did not detect any toxic side effects of the treatment in mice.
, 百拇医药
The authors point out that the generators that produce the alpha particles are extraordinarily powerful, making treatment possible with low doses. This not only would limit patients' exposure to radioactivity, but could also keep treatment costs under control, according to the researchers.
Despite the promising findings, proof of the therapy's safety and effectiveness awaits the results of human clinical trials. Scheinberg's group plans to submit a proposed trial to the US Food and Drug Administration in early 2002.
Scheinberg said it is too early to know how the therapy would be used in people, but it could potentially become part of combination therapy for cancer.
"If it is useful alone, it is likely to be used with other effective approaches, too," he said.
SOURCE: Science 2001;294:1537-1540., 百拇医药