Research by Mohali lab shows way to a new cancer treatment technique that may eradicate tumours in a month’s time

Vijay Mohan

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Chandigarh, August 27

A new method of cancer treatment using nano-particles has been conceived by a Mohali-based laboratory that is not only said to be more efficient than conventional medical practices but may lead to an adjuvant or alternative cancer therapy in the future.

These nanoparticles are capable of selective killing of cancer cells without affecting normal cells and can lead to eradication of tumours within a month or so of treatment, laboratory research has shown.

Researchers at Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, used vitamin-K3 loaded copper zinc ferrite nanoparticles having therapeutic capabilities, for developing the new treatment methodology that could benefit millions of cancer patients worldwide.

Conventional cancer therapies such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery have significant drawbacks such as resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs, adverse effects and lower efficacy.

Hence development of nano-therapies that can target hypoxic tumours, that is a condition when oxygen is not available in sufficient amounts at the tissue level, with minimum side-effects is necessary, a statement issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology read.

At present, magnetic hyperthermia-based cancer therapy (MHCT) has been shown to be therapeutic, but in most cases it is not very effective due to the generation of lower levels of reactive oxygen species in a hypoxic tumour environment and low heat transmission. MHCT utilises the heat generated by nanoparticles when subjected to an alternating magnetic field.

With the ever-increasing prevalence of cancer cases worldwide, newer approaches to cancer therapy are increasingly needed to tackle the problem. According to a paper published under the aegis of the National Institute of Health, the estimated number of cancer cases in India for the year 2022 was 14.61 lakh.

The incidence of cancer cases is estimated to increase by 12.8 per cent in 2025 to about 19 lakh cases, the paper has projected. In India, one in nine people are likely to develop cancer, with lung, breast and lymphoid leukaemia cancers being the leading types of ailments in this field.

A team led by Dr Deepika Sharma at INST, a central government establishment, has devised a system that integrates MHTC and chemo-dynamic therapy, a technique involving catalytic reaction to generate highly toxic hydroxyl radicals to kill cancer cells.

According to the researchers, the amalgamation of these techniques causes irreversible oxidative damage to the tumour cells, leading to complete tumour eradication. “The combined effect resulted in a synergistic anticancer response. A tumour inhibition rate of 69 percent was achieved within 20 days of MTD treatment and complete tumour eradication within 30 days,” the researchers said.

The findings of the INST scientists have been published in Applied Materials and Interfaces, a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Chemical Society.