'Guided Chemo Missiles' that target only cancer cells

                Scientists have engineered novel proteins that work like ‘guided missiles’ which seek out cancer cells and deliver chemotherapy drugs to treat hard-to-reach tumours without harming healthy cells. Although chemotherapy drugs do often effectively kill cancer cells, they also damage other quickly dividing cells in the body, causing side effects ranging from cosmetic, like hair loss, to disabling.

                Sometimes, the drugs dose needed to kill a tumour may be more than what a person’s body can handle. This might happen if the tumour does not have much of a blood supply and very little of the drugs, which is delivered through the bloodstreams, can get in. A dose high enough to infiltrate the tumour could be deadly to other cells in the body.

                Some recently approved therapies get around this problem using antibodies to deliver a drug directly to tumours, by passing healthy cells and possibly overcoming some of the uglier aspects of cancer chemotherapy. Although the two techniques are conceptually similar, the specialized protein has the potential advantage of being able to pass through the barrier that protects the brain, thereby being able to treat brain tumours. It is also smaller than the antibody and might be able to reach dense tumours with little blood supply.