New gene delivery system helps beat breast cancer

Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have revealed they have discovered a way to destroy breast cancer cells by causing them to self-destruct.

The researchers, who have published their findings in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics, used a transport system called a Designer Biomimetic Vector to deliver a gene directly into the affected cells.

Dr Helen McCarthy and her colleagues used the miniscule device to concentrate the nanoparticles and force the cancer cells to produce poisonous nitric oxide.

This then either kills the cells outright or makes them more vulnerable to radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

"In the long term, I see this being used to treat people with metastatic breast cancer that has spread to the bones, ideally administered before radiotherapy and chemotherapy," Dr McCarthy said.

Elsewhere, a new study led by Vera Mazurak, of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, suggests that supplementing the diet with fish oil can prevent weight loss usually associated with chemotherapy.