A nanodrug can help spot early stage cancer: Scientists

Image for representational purposes only

Zee Media Bureau

Moscow: Russian researchers have come up with a novel nanodrug that can be helpful in identifying brain tumour during the first stage itself. This drug can subsequently be used for the treatment of other types of cancers as well.

The research team at Russia’s National University of Science and Technology has claimed to start clinical trials of the new drug in 2018. Apart from diagnosing early stage cancers, it will also be used for targeted drug transport directly aimed at tumour cells in the near future.

After properly identifying faulty cells, the drug breaches those cells - a process that only affects the tumour cells and leaves the rest of the organism undisturbed.

“We have developed a technology which has no analogues in the world and which allows the release of drugs into specific tumour cells,” Alexander Majouga who heads the team said.

The new nanoagent is essentially an upgraded version of the tracers currently used in PET (positron emission tomography scans) -- a type of imaging test that uses a radioactive substance called a tracer to look for disease in the body -- with the added bonus of its compatibility with MRI technology - which has none of the radiation risks of PET scans.

Containing magnetite covered with biopolymer, the drug has an average size of just 40 nanometers. 

The magnetite nanoparticles can be seen on MRI images, allowing doctors to diagnose a tumour in its very early stages. 

The magnetite nanoagent itself, in contrast to tracers and other existing alternatives, is not toxic and is much cheaper than current options, the statement added.

With agency inputs