Medical Breakthrough '08: Nano Tumor Killers

There's new hope for destroying cancerous liver tumors.

• Your Medical Care
• Breakthroughs
• Mind & Body

Soon there may be a treatment for liver cancer that works from inside the tumor without damaging neighboring tissue, thanks to tiny nanotubes.

In early experiments with rabbits, scientists at the University of Texas and Rice University implanted the carbon tubes into liver tumors. (They're so small that 75,000 of them lined up side by side would be about the width of a human hair.) Then the rabbits were exposed to radio waves. The nanotubes produced heat, which ultimately destroyed the tumor. The researchers hope this method has potential to treat other types of cancer too. 5+ years

From Reader's Digest - March 2008

 

• Medical Breakthroughs for 2008
• New hope for cancer, diabetes, dementia and more.
• 
• Online Cancer Resources
• A guide to up-to-date cancer research and information
• 
• Detect Cancer at the Treatable Stage
• Essential annual screenings are integral to cancer prevention.
• 
• 31 Simple Ways to Prevent Cancer
• Small changes to inoculate yourself against the Big C.
• 
• Complementary and Alternative Therapies in Cancer Treatment
• 

• Be Inspired
• Take Our Fun and Short Around the World Survey!
• Help Prevent Teen Car Crashes
• Meet 6 Incredible Individuals
• PLUS:
• Quiz: Match the Celebrity With the Cause

While rummaging through her attic, my friend Kathryn found an old shotgun. Unsure about how to dispose of it, she called her parents. "Take it to the police station," her mother suggested. My friend was about to hang up when her mother added, "And Kathryn?"

"Yes, Mom?"

"Call first."

-- Karen Whedon, Cincinnati, Ohio