A new cancer treatment method uses batteries to remove oxygen from tumors
According to a study published in Science Advances, batteries can be used in cancer treatment by reducing the amount of oxygen in tumors. Though only in a preliminary stage, scientists have found a new way to fight cancer in mice by attaching a small self-charging zinc battery to solid, hypoxic tumors, such as those commonly seen in breast cancer patients. Hypoxia is a condition commonly found in cancers that results in decreased oxygen levels. This means that traditional radiation treatments and chemotherapies cannot attack the tumor because there is not enough oxygen for proper blood supply to the cancerous region. However, researchers have found that hypoxic tumors can also provide a ‘target’ for treating tumors with different methods. In other words, hypoxia is not all bad, and through the use of hypoxia-triggered prodromes, or chemotherapy drugs that are activated in low-oxygen environments, it is possible to significantly reduce the size of tumors. And how do you remove oxygen? By attaching a battery to the tumor, of course. The researchers found that by attaching tiny, flexible batteries to tumors, they suck in oxygen, allowing hypoxia-activated synthetic drugs that kill cancer to do their job. The results are amazing. In just two weeks, treatment with the batteries reduced the size of tumors in mice by 26%. Also, after the batteries have worked their magic, hypoxia-triggered drugs can be introduced to treat cancer. The average tumor in this study shrank by 90%. Fan Zhang, lead author of the research and expert on biomedical materials, said the study looks promising, but is still only in the preliminary stages.
