Fighting Cancer With Fat

Ivanhoe Newswire
Monday, January 15, 2007; 12:00 AM

By Lucy Williams, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- An injection of fat may not sound healthy, but it could help doctors fight cancer! New research reveals fat bubbles, or liposomes, infused with anticancer drugs can track down a tumor and deliver the medication.

In a recent study from Duke University in Durham, N.C., researchers gave breast cancer patients heat-seeking liposomes filled with cancer-fighting drugs. By heating the patients' tumors, researchers were able to direct the drugs to specific regions of the tumor.

"The liposomes are the consistency of butter when you inject them into the body, but when they reach the area that's heated, they melt," senior investigator Mark Dewhirst, D.V.M., Ph.D., professor of radiation oncology at Duke University Medical Center, told Ivanhoe. "When they melt, they release their drug. If you can control the heat, you can control where the drug goes."

Dr. Dewhirst maintained there are no downsides to injecting a cancer patient with liposomes. "A liposome is a small lipid vesicle that contains drug on the inside," he said. "It's very tiny, so it's not going to clog your blood vessels."

When the tumor is heated, its blood flow increases and blood vessels become porous, allowing liposomes to accumulate. When liposomes reach the heated tumor, they melt and release drugs. Researchers tracked the path of the liposomes using magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. MRI results reveal drugs can be directed to different parts of a tumor using precise application of heat.

"Until now, no one has been able to measure the drug as it goes into a tumor," Dr. Dewhirst said. "When we do radiation therapy in patients, we can calculate the radiation doses everywhere, so it's possible using computer simulation to predict where the radiation dose is going in three dimensions."

Dr. Dewhirst said this could be a breakthrough discovery in directing anticancer drugs to the tumor. By controlling the application of anticancer drugs, doctors will be better able to protect healthy cells and fight harmful cells.