Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles are working on a technique that could diagnose brain tumors and treat the cancer with a combination of an MRI “virtual biopsy” and nano-scale drugs.
Early research with lab mice involved researchers using a variety of nanodrugs that can seek out and bind to cancer cells. By attaching a tracer visible on MRI, tumors can be spotted and their molecular makeup identified, which can in turn direct treatment with further drugs designed to specifically attack the molecular structure of the disease.
Results from the animals studies have been published online in the American Chemical Society's journal ACS Nano, and you can read more about the research directly from Cedars-Sinai at the link below:
Evan joined TriMed in 2011, writing primarily for Health Imaging. Prior to diving into medical journalism, Evan worked for the Nine Network of Public Media in St. Louis. He also has worked in public relations and education. Evan studied journalism at the University of Missouri, with an emphasis on broadcast media.