Thu Sep 15, 2005 1:01 pm   Reply with quote      

A BREAKTHROUGH by experts in Scotland could boost cancer survival rates.

A Glasgow University team have discovered a “search and destroy” system able to treat body tumours inaccessible to surgeons.

It works by using special particles to guide an anti-cancer gene which only targets affected cells.

The technique has already been proved to shrink and even cure tumours of the cervix and the bowel.

The treatment is an alternative to chemo- therapy, which can kill off healthy cells and lead to side-effects such as hair loss and nausea.

Professor Jim Cassidy, of Cancer Research UK, believes it is a major step in the fight against the killer disease.

He said: “I am delighted that here in Scotland we have made such an important step in developing a type of therapy that could have benefits for cancer patients in years to come.”

Dr Andreas Schatzlein, who led the study, said: “This is the first time that this type of treatment has been able to reduce the size of tumours to such an extent.

“We hope to have further demonstrated the potential of genetic therapies to treat cancer in the future.”

Aaron