The effects of chemotherapy in destroying cancer are well documented. All too often, however, chemotherapy carries a high risk of damaging side effects at the same time. For some patients, these side effects are so devastating they almost outweigh the benefits of treatment. Because it can kill tumour cells, chemo also tends to blitz fast-dividing cells in skin, hair, bone marrow and other parts of the body indiscriminately.
Targetted Chemo
That could be about to change, thanks to what could be a crucial weapon in the war against cancer, which aims to give targeted chemo without the side effects.
The new technology is called the IsoFlow Isolation Catheter, and comes from San Jose based Vascular Designs specifically set up to work on the project. Chief Executive Robert Goldman, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who lost his sister to the disease in the late 1990s, has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds and several years developing his idea.
How It Works
Essentially, the IsoFlow Isolation Catheter fits inside the patient’s regular blood vessel, and cuts off the blood flow to the tumour by blowing up minute balloons before and after the vessel feeding it. This starves the tumour of blood, which is then redirected via a different route. At the same time, chemotherapy can be blasted directly into the tumour, through the area blocked off by the balloons.
The IsoFlow catheter is guided into place with a thin guide wire. Outside the body, it uses two syringes. When in place, the first syringe is inflates the small balloons inside the vein. The second syringe injects chemo drugs into the isolated area.
The main advantage of this invention is that it allows chemotherapy to be administered in far greater doses than would otherwise be feasible. This means treatment can be more aggressive, far more accurately targeted and potentially more effective. Chemotherapy drugs can wreak havoc on the tumour without the usual devastation to the rest of the body.
Is It Perfect?
No, it would be wrong to describe this as a new miracle cure for this deadly disease. It only functions with tumours which have a well-defined shape and vasculature, or circulatory system.
The device received US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) marketing approval just last month, and has just come available to the public there with a doctor’s prescription. It’s already attracting huge interest in the medical community.
Here is a video of how it works:
It is very exciting to see how technology like this is being utilised for good. Hopefully it starts being used all over the world soon.
Source: Gizmag. Image: screenshot from video
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