Researchers at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School say they have developed a new approach to cancer: control it, rather than kill it. Professor of General and Tumor Immunology Eitan Yefenof says that a much safer approach to battling cancer is to induce it to remain in a dormant state, rather than trying to achieve massive killing of cancer cells through chemotherapy.
Conventional chemotherapy involves large doses of toxic drugs that inevitably destroy normal cells along with cancer cells. The new technique introduces a toxic molecule into the blood stream directed against specific cancer cell receptors. The toxin kills or inactivates the cancer cell, thus preventing it from replicating. The overall result is that the cancer - even if it may not be totally destroyed - stops growing and becomes dormant. It is known that people with dormant cancer cells can lead healthy lives for prolonged periods of time.
Conventional chemotherapy involves large doses of toxic drugs that inevitably destroy normal cells along with cancer cells. The new technique introduces a toxic molecule into the blood stream directed against specific cancer cell receptors. The toxin kills or inactivates the cancer cell, thus preventing it from replicating. The overall result is that the cancer - even if it may not be totally destroyed - stops growing and becomes dormant. It is known that people with dormant cancer cells can lead healthy lives for prolonged periods of time.