- Multiple diagnostic tests could be situated together on the same small device,
entering and monitoring cells within a living body simultaneously, improving
efficiency, better sensitivity, and possibly reducing cost.
- Nanoparticles could enter cells and the organelles inside them to interact with
DNA and proteins to identify alterations, shapes, locations, and more.
- They could improve efficacy and reduce the side effects of both diagnostics
and treatments
Better imaging methods
- Nanotechnology could improve targeted imaging capabilities
Better targeting of cancer cells
- Nanoshells may be used to concentrate the heat from infrared light to destroy
cancer cells with minimal damage to surrounding healthy cells.
- Nanoparticles, when activated by x-rays, generate electrons that cause the
destruction of cancer cells to which they have attached themselves.
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Reduce damage
to healthy cells
in the body by
delivering drug
only to cancer
cells.
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| Image courtesy ofthe National Cancer Institute |
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Quality of Life Enhancement in Cancer Care
- Quality of life could be improved by designing nanoscale devices that can
optimally deliver medications used for treating conditions that can develop
during the course of chronic anticancer therapy, including pain, nausea, loss of
appetite, depression, and difficulty breathing.
Other possible benefits
- Improved knowledge about health and disease related to cancer
- Reduced costs with some diagnostic tests
Potential disadvantages of nanotechnology
Understanding the issues related to toxicity and the environmental impact of
nanoscale materials will help overcome problems that exist for nanomedicine at
present. Although there are a number of promising breakthroughs in medicine,
relatively little is known about the potential health and environmental effects of tiny
particles.
Millions of dollars are being spent on product development, but some scientists feel
that insufficient funds are committed to determining whether nanomaterials pose a
danger to human health. It is recognized that subtle changes in the size of the
particles used in the nanoscale materials can produce widely different changes in
their properties, including their toxicity.
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Because elements at the
nanoscale behave
differently than they do in
their bulk form, there's a
concern that some
nanoparticles could be
toxic.
Some doctors worry that the
nanoparticles are so small
that they could easily cross
the blood-brain barrier, a
membrane that protects the
brain from harmful
chemicals in the
bloodstream.
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| Image courtesy of How Stuff Works |
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If we plan on using nanoparticles to coat everything from materials used in our
clothing to our highways, we need to be sure that these particles won't poison
us.
Other areas of concern
- Side effects
- High costs
- Potential for short-term efficacy
- Challenges associated with the sophistication of the technology
- Nanotechnology may be advancing so fast that its use may outpace efforts to
ensure its safety
- The precision of nanotechnology is a challenge and opportunity.
Nanotechnology development requires the incorporation of very high-tech
mathematical models not used in other forms of cancer drug development.
These models may not accurately predict the safest and most effective cancer
diagnostic and treatment approaches.
- Nanotechnology may be so small that in some instances the body might clear
them too rapidly to be effective.
What is the availability of nanotechnology?
Treatments using nanotechnology have been approved by the Food and Drug
Administration for specific types of cancer.
Nanotechnology is primarily available through clinical trials (research studies in
people). Health insurance companies may or may not provide coverage for
nanotechnology, which may be very expensive.
Ask your oncologist about the use of nanotechnology for your diagnosis, and the
possibility of combining it with other cancer therapies.
Examples of current nanotechnology research
- Nanoparticles that aid in imaging malignant lesions to show surgeons the
location of the cancer and how best to remove it.
- Nanoshells that kill tumor cells selectively to eliminate side effects resulting
from healthy cells being destroyed.
- Dendrimers (nanoscale molecules) that sequester drugs to reduce systemic side effects, deliver
multiple drugs to maximize therapeutic impact.
- Biosensors that monitor genetic changes and hyperplasia to prevent cancer
progression.
- Nanoparticles that target and destroy lymphatic vessels unique to breast
cancer tumors.
- Nanotechnology devices that target tumor angiogenesis-the growth and
recruitment of blood vessels that characterize and are essential to the growth
of many cancers.
