Israeli scientists say they have developed a way to treat cancer in mice that is so specific that it is like using “small scissors” to target cells, a report said.
“This is the first study in the world to prove that the CRISPR genome editing system, which works by cutting DNA, can be used effectively to treat cancer in animals,” Professor Dan Pierre, a cancer specialist at Tel Aviv University, told the Times. Israel.
Peer’s research was published last week in the journal Science Advances.
“There are no side effects, and we believe that cancer cells treated in this way will never reactivate.” “This technology can extend the life of cancer patients and we hope that, one day, this disease will be cured,” Pierre told the news outlet.
Pierre said he hopes the method could one day replace chemotherapy treatment.
“If we can use this technique, then in three treatments we can destroy the tumor. This technique can physically cut the DNA in cancerous cells, and those cells will not survive, ”Pierre said.
Research uses genome-editing techniques using targeted lipid nanoparticles for cancer treatment.
Scientists have used the technology on hundreds of rats – and Pierre said the method could potentially be used on humans in two years.
The study focuses on two types of cancer – glioblastoma, invasive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord, and metastatic ovarian cancer.
The researchers found that rats with cancer that had been treated had doubled the life expectancy of the control group, and had a 30 percent higher survival rate, the news report said.
“This technology needs to be further developed, but the main thing is that we have shown that it can kill cancer cells,” Pierre said.
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