Nanoparticles in Cancer Therapy

Abstract

More than 50% of all cancer patients receive radiotherapy which largely means X-ray therapy. X-rays kill cells by the deposition of energy (the “dose”) into the cells, but unfortunately these X-rays also damage healthy cells. Furthermore, radiation is introduced from many angles to increase the dose on the tumor leading to irradiation of much more healthy tissue than strictly necessary - this can be detrimental, especially for brain tumors (see image). Therefore what is needed is a new therapy that allows more targeted application of the radiation to reduce damage to healthy cells.