A new treatment designed for pancreatic cancer is said to improve survival rates among patients, according to new research.
According Northern Ireland's Ulster University researchers who are developing the technology at the Biomedical Sciences Research Institute in Coleraine, the treatment has the ability to reduce the size of tumors five times from its original size, the university's press release stated.
The research is headed by Ulster University's Professor John Callan and Tony McHale who collaborated with Eleanor Stride, a professor at University of Oxford, and Mark Taylor, one of the top pancreatic cancer surgeons in Northern Ireland.
This medical breakthrough is believed to pave way for other options for treating pancreatic cancer even at its most advanced form, Irish Times stated in its report.
The treatment works by injecting the tumors with tiny bubbles of oxygen that carry an inactive drug. This drug then gets activated with an ultrasound, triggering the release of the oxygen.
"These sound waves also activate the drug, a treatment known as sonodynamic therapy (SDT), making it kill the tumour cells," Callan explained, according to the university's press release.
In addition, Callan noted that the sound waves can be controlled, which results in targeted delivery that affects only the tumor and does not cause harm to the surrounding healthy tissues. Consequently, the patient will experience fewer side effects.
Taylor also believes that the treatment shows promise. "This therapy has the potential to reduce pancreatic tumours to a size which would make surgery an option for a greater number of patients," he said.
Pancreatic is the tenth most common type of cancer in the United Kingdom; it is the thirteenth among men and ninth among women, according to Cancer Research UK. Also, the disease is the fifth leading cause of death in the country.
Survival rates for the disease are considerably low, according to Taylor, because it tends to show only a few symptoms and usually they occur when the disease is already in its late stage.
The new treatment is believed to offer hope to all pancreatic patients. Callahan is optimistic about clinical trials involving the technology that should begin in a couple of years, BBC reported.
