Unlike traditional cancer treatments, non-invasive cancer treatments target only cancer cells, leaving healthy cells intact. Traditionally, non-invasive medical treatments do not break the skin and avoid physical contact with the body cavity, though the term "non-invasive" also includes procedures such as magnetic resonance imaging, which technically do penetrate the body. As of 2010, two promising non-invasive cancer treatments, Nanoparticles and the Kanzius Radio Wave machine, are awaiting U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.
Light Therapy
Photodynamic therapy (PDT), or light therapy, is a process where physicians inject cancer-killing medication, called photosensitizers, into the body. The photosensitizers make tumors sensitive to light of a specific wavelength. A physician then uses a laser to target the tumor, starving it of oxygen and killing the cancer cells. The wavelength is especially important because it determines specifically how far the laser will travel inside the body. The ability to set different wavelengths allows doctors to target specific body parts. As of June 2010, the FDA has approved PDT to treat non-small cell lung cancer and esophageal cancer. In the United Kingdom, Dr. Mo Keshtgar has successfully used PDT to treat breast cancer and non-melanoma skin cancer. PDT is particularly appealing to breast cancer patients, who can be traumatized by the physical scars left by a mastectomy, or breast-removal surgery.
Nanoparticles
Nanoparticles are particles no larger than 2,500 nanometers which behave and move like a group. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. The devices have far-reaching biomedical applications. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California, San Francisco and the Georgia Institute of Technology have investigated the use of gold nanoparticles to treat cancer. Injected into the body, the particles bind themselves to malignant cancer cells, making detection easier for physicians. When exposed to heat, the nanoparticles destroy the tumors, leaving healthy cells intact. Researchers at the University of Arkansas have experimented with cobalt nanoparticles. As of 2010, the use of nanoparticles in cancer treatment had not yet received FDA approval.
Kanzius Radio Wave Cancer Treatment
Early research appears promising for the Kanzius machine, a device that kills cancer cells using radiowaves. The radiowaves heat and destroy cancer cells, leaving healthy cells intact and causing no side effects. In April 2008, the machine, and its inventor, John Kanzius, were featured on the TV news program "60 Minutes." Dr. Steven Curley, a liver cancer surgeon, told reporter Lesley Stahl that "this technology may allow us to treat just about any type of cancer you can imagine."
As of 2010, the Kanzius Radio Wave treatment has successfully treated tumors in animals. According to the Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation, human trials are set to begin by 2013.
References
- National Cancer Institute: Photodynamic Therapy for Cancer
- "The Daily Telegraph": Light Therapy Offers Non-invasive Treatment for Breast Cancer
- MIT News: Targeting tumors using tiny gold particles
- "60 Minutes": The Kanzius Machine
- Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation: Exciting News from the Kanzius Labs
