Thursday, December 15, 2011

Cancer Tumor Destruction Method

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a tumor destruction method that also creates immunity to the cancer's return.

A radioactive wire, less than an inch long and about the width of a pin, when inserted into a solid tumor, releases lethal radioactive atoms that irradiate the tumor from the inside out, as the tumor breaks down, it releases antigens which then trigger an immune response against the cancerous cells.

Diffusing Alpha-emitters Radiation Therapy (DaRTTM), developed by Prof. Yona Keisari of TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Prof. Itzhak Kelson of TAU's Department of Physics and Astronomy, has strengthen the odds in favor of permanent tumor destruction.

According to Prof. Kelson, the wire is coated in atoms that emit not just alpha particles, but also daughter atoms which are themselves alpha emitters.  These particles diffuse inside the tumor, spreading further and further before disintegrating.  The process takes approx. ten days, leaving only non-radioactive and not-toxic amounts of lead, while the wire itself, decays harmlessly in the body.

In pre-clinical trials on mice, one group of mice were treated with surgical tumor removal, while the other group underwent ablation treatment using the radioactive wire.  When cells from the tumor were re-injected into the mice, 100% of those treated surgically redeveloped their tumor, compared to only 50% of those treated with the radioactive wire.  Lung, pancreatic, colon, breast, and brain tumors have been researched with excellent results.

Also to note, Prof. Keisari along with Prof. Rafi Korenstein of TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine has developed a second ablation technique, called pulsed electric current ablation, where electrodes are inserted into tumors and emit electrical currents to create a chemical reaction that destroys the tumor.

Source: Tel Aviv University

Shared with: the healthy home economist, fight back friday