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Chinese scientists use nanoplatform ‘aircraft carrier’ to release drugs and attack tumours in cancer patients
- Therapy can inhibit tumour growth, promote the body’s immune response and prevent cancer cell metastasis, says team from Donghua University in Shanghai
- Researcher says the nanoplatform ‘shows promising results for breast cancer treatment’
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![Researchers from Donghua University in Shanghai say they have a therapy that attacks tumours by combining strategies and simultaneously inhibiting growth of the primary tumour and tumour metastasis. Image: Shutterstock](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2023/06/07/30d0d0ab-37e5-4631-a8ec-0a54647fe5fe_ab1f0e51.jpg?itok=m-Keq6VQ&v=1686138094)
Zhang Tongin Beijing
Chinese scientists have designed a drug delivery platform that fights cancer like a microscopic aircraft carrier by finding tumour cells and releasing medicine to attack them.
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It is an advanced and intelligent therapy for tumours with the potential for clinical applications because it can inhibit tumour growth, promote the body’s immune response and prevent cancer cell metastasis – the spread of cancer cells to another part of the body – at the same time, according to the researchers.
There were an estimated 19.3 million new cases worldwide in 2020, with female breast cancer the most common cancer diagnosed, according to International Agency for Research on Cancer statistics.
Conventional treatments cannot completely eradicate cancer cells and they may damage normal tissue. A main reason for the failure of cancer treatment is the extensive metastasis of the disease through the patient’s blood and lymphatic vessels.
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