Researchers have experimented with this new treatment on mice and dogs

Oct 16, 2012 20:51 GMT  ·  By
Experiments indicate that radioactive gold nanoparticles could successfully be used to treat prostate cancer
   Experiments indicate that radioactive gold nanoparticles could successfully be used to treat prostate cancer

According to a team of researchers from the University of Missouri, it is very well possible that those suffering from prostate cancer could soon be presented with an alternative to one's run-off-the-mill chemotherapy: radioactive gold nanoparticles.

Thus, these scientists have recently experimented with this new form of treatment and claim that their laboratory studies have yielded more than satisfactory results.

More precisely, when mice were treated with radioactive gold nanoparticles, researchers found that the size of the tumor they previously developed diminished to a considerable extent.

As well as this, dogs suffering from prostate cancer were highly responsive to treatment. Because of this, the scientists concluded that, as long as radioactive gold nanoparticles could safely be used to treat these animals, human patients could soon be next on the list.

Specialist Kattesh Katti explains how, “We found remarkable results in mice, which showed a significant reduction in tumor volume through single injections of the radioactive gold nanoparticles.”

She goes on to explain that, “Proving that gold nanoparticles are safe to use in the treatment of prostate cancer in dogs is a big step toward gaining approval for clinical trials in men. Dogs develop prostate cancer naturally in a very similar way as humans, so the gold nanoparticle treatment has a great chance to translate well to human patients.”

Given the fact that chemotherapy does more than just destroy the tumor it is supposed to target – it also toys with bodily functions and it harms several vital organs –, it comes as good news that an alternative to this treatment might soon be available for human patients suffering from prostate cancer.

More so seeing how the researchers who worked on these experiments believe that this new form of treatment could also deal with aggressive tumors quite successfully.

“Because dogs can't tell us how they feel, many times they are diagnosed with the disease too late, but this treatment gives us some hope that we can still combat aggressive tumors,” argues researcher Axiak-Bechtel.