(Nanowerk News) In laboratory studies conducted at Roswell Park
Cancer Institute (RPCI), researchers discovered that
nanocomposite particles carrying radioactive gold directly to
tumors reduced cancer growth by 45% in just eight days. This
research was published in a recent issue of the Journal of
Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine and provides
first evidence of the therapeutic use of tumor targeted
radioactive nanodevices, according to lead authors Lajos P.
Balogh, PhD, Director of Nanotechnology Research and Mohamed K.
Khan, MD, PhD, Associate Director of Translational Research and
a physician in the Department of Radiation Medicine at Roswell
Park. Each year, more than half a million cancer-related deaths
and approximately 1.3 million new cases are reported in the
United States. Radiotherapy has been used for almost all forms
of cancer, however, one of the challenges is to deliver a lethal
enough dose of radiation to the tumor while leaving the
surrounding normal tissue unharmed. The resear