Written by Ehab Mohamed
Friday, April 14, 2023 10:17 AM
Chinese scientists invented a small device to treat breast cancerDuring experiments, the device succeeded in treating mice from breast cancer within only two weeks of starting its use, which raised a state of hope among human sufferers, and the device works by creating a small current in salt water injected into the surrounding tumor tissue, which absorbs oxygen, Research scientists said the self-charging battery lasts up to 500 hours.
The device deprives cancer cells of oxygen, a condition called hypoxia, and this technology also works to enhance the effectiveness of special drugs that are injected into targeted areas of hypoxic cells, according to the “The Sun” website.
Lead author Professor Fan Zhang, from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, said: “After 14 days, the tumors in the five mice that received the working battery and drug treatment had decreased by an average of 90 per cent.
The drugs used are known as HAPs – Hypoxia-activated prodrugs are not currently approved for clinical use due to limited evidence of their efficacy, but Professor Zhang explained: “Typically tumors deplete oxygen in surrounding non-cancerous tissues as they grow, resulting in cells starved of oxygen or hypoxia..
He added: “Hypoxia-activated prodrugs aim to take advantage of this advantage by targeting only hypoxic cells – minimizing damage to healthy cells and minimizing side effects.” But Professor Randall Johnson, from the University of Cambridge, warned that inducing hypoxia in a tumor could increase the risk of cancer spreading..
“Although this did not appear to have occurred in these mice, the costs and benefits of using the battery in humans should be evaluated prior to human therapy.”
