Published in Physics World, 1 Jul 2013
Cancer cells aren’t bad, they’re just not being treated right – or at least, that is what one US group’s research seems to suggest. Jon Cartwright reports on their findings
Few diseases instil more fear than cancer. More than any other illness, the rhetoric surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of cancer conjures images of an innate “badness” invading the body. The feeling is not just a popular impression but one that is reinforced through cancer therapy, which – be it radiotherapy, chemotherapy or surgery – is generally aimed at eradicating “malignant” cells.
But what if cancer isn’t some case of “cells gone bad”, some genetic defect? To put it another way, what if tumour cells can be made to act normally, given the right motivation? That is the question being asked by a group of researchers in the US, who have found that simply regulating the voltage of tumorous cells could be enough to stop them spreading out of control. Their work is in its very early stages, but already it is being viewed as a possible new way of detecting and treating cancer. […]
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