Researchers in India have developed a new way to treat cancer, especially breast cancer, using an injectable gel.
Here's a simple explanation:
What is the new treatment? It's an injectable hydrogel, a special type of gel that can hold and release drugs.
What is a hydrogel? It's a gel made mostly of water and a network of tiny molecules. It's designed to be similar to living tissue, making it good for medical uses.
What is it made of? It's made of very small pieces of protein called ultra-short peptides. These are safe for the body and break down naturally.
How does it work?
The gel is injected directly into the tumor.
It's designed to react to a molecule called glutathione (GSH), which is found in high levels in cancer cells.
When the gel senses high levels of GSH, it releases the chemotherapy drug it's carrying (Doxorubicin) right into the tumor.
Why is this better than regular chemotherapy? Regular chemotherapy spreads throughout the whole body, which can damage healthy cells and cause side effects. This new gel targets the drug directly at the tumor, reducing damage to healthy cells. It also seems to help the drug work better and kill more cancer cells.
What have they found so far? In tests on mice with breast cancer, a single injection of the gel reduced tumor size by about 75% in just 18 days.
What's next? Researchers are hopeful that this new approach could lead to better cancer treatments with fewer side effects for patients.
In simple terms: Scientists have created a special gel that can be injected directly into tumors. This gel releases cancer-killing drugs only at the tumor site, reducing damage to healthy parts of the body. Early tests show it works very well. This could be a big step forward in cancer treatment