Two Strange Things Killed Cancer in these Mice

May 14, 2020 by Christian Signorino

Two strange things have joined and created a unique duo, and actually killed cancer in mice. The combination of tiny-gas bubbles and the device known for its use with pregnancy was tested and successfully killed cancer in mice, in Katherine Ferrara's lab. The therapy created from a study by an ex-Stanford postdoctoral scholar has proved to be very beneficial to her.



These "microbubbles" are being used as a new targeted cancer therapy and are being guided by ultrasound. Tali Ilovitsh led a study just to prove if this was possible. Mice underwent a 6-month study where they were infected with breast cancer. 16% of mice survived the 6 months without any tumor recurrence.

The microbubbles are injected into a tumor, along with a therapeutic agent, where they attach to the tumor wall, with the help of ultrasound frequencies tuned lower create the microbubbles to act like a drill. The therapeutic forces the tumor to produce a chemical signal, attracting immune cells to finish the job.

"What's unique about this approach is that we're eliminating a large fraction of tumor cells – but through this agent, we're also causing the remaining tumor cells to essentially initiate their own demise by recruiting immune cells to the tumor," stated the scholar.

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