Indian researchers have developed a new heat-based approach to the treatment of cancer that can reduce the quantum of chemotherapy doses, thereby not only enhancing treatment efficacy but also reducing the side effects of medical procedures.
Scientists at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, used a combination of ultra-small magnetic nanoparticles along with a heat shock protein inhibitor for effective magnetic hyperthermia-based cancer therapy.
According to scientists, a key advantage of this innovative therapy is its potential to stimulate the immune system, enhancing the body’s natural defence against cancer. Further, by overcoming drug resistance, a common challenge in cancer treatment, this approach offers a new frontier in combating this formidable disease.
As cancer rates rise worldwide, the need for new treatment methods is crucial. Traditional treatments like chemotherapy and surgery have significant limitations, including drug resistance and severe side effects. To address these challenges, researchers are exploring innovative treatments such as nano-therapy, which have fewer side effects.
Experiments by INST scientists on animal models by administering the combination through intra-tumoral injections resulted in maximum glioma (type of tumour) cell death with tumour inhibition rates reaching 65 percent and 53 percent at the primary and secondary tumour sites, respectively, within eight days.
Scientists said that the method is less invasive and causes fewer side effects. The research team demonstrated that magnetic nano-particles, when exposed to an alternating magnetic field, can effectively combat tumours. This combined magnetic hyperthermia and chemotherapy approach can reduce the required amount of chemotherapy, making the treatment both safer and more effective.
Additionally, the therapy can treat distant tumours without the need for an additional dose at the secondary tumour site, making it a highly effective cancer treatment, scientists said.
Extensive global research is needed to realise the clinical application of the new therapy, potentially developing an adjuvant or alternative cancer therapy, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The study paves the way for more efficient and tolerable anti-cancer treatments, offering substantial benefits to millions of patients and providing new directions for hyperthermia-based therapies, the statement added.
