A gel, that can kill hard-to-reach cancer cells, has successfully cured mice of an aggressive type of brain tumour, giving hope it could be used to treat patients.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA, developed the gel by combining a cancer drug with an antibody in a solution.
The resulting hydrogel can then fill into small spaces that are left after a brain tumour is removed, and reach areas that current drugs cannot penetrate and that surgery may miss.
When tested in mice, with brain tumours equivalent to glioblastoma (one of the most fatal types), all of the animals survived in what researchers described as a ‘striking’ result.
Dr Honggang Cui, at Johns Hopkins, said: “We think this hydrogel will be the future and will supplement current treatments for brain cancer.”
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