Cancer continues to be a huge headache across the globe and vast research is going on to find a suitable therapy, including application of nanotechnology, for the dreaded disease. While surgery, chemotherapy and radiation still prevail as conventional modes of treatment, the focus lately across the world is on targeted therapy - killing cancer cells.

What is cancer? Normally, in a human body, cells keep dying and new cells get produced. There is a fine balance in this mechanism.

Cells get produced, perform certain functions, and after a set period, they die. This process is controlled by a particular gene. In cancer, there is a breakdown of this mechanism. This particular gene, which may be inherently defective and exhibit its defectiveness at some point or becomes defective because of reasons like smoking, lifestyle changes or any form of chronic irritation, changes its behavior pattern, and then loses control.

Later, the cells divide uncontrollably and may grow into adjacent tissue or spread to other parts of the body. The mass of cancer cells eventually form a tumor. There are more than 100 types of cancer and each has its own characteristics. There are a few therapies in use for this deadly disease, but the latest ones are targeted therapy and gene therapy.

Targeted therapy

This treatment uses drugs to identify and attack specific cancer cells. Targeted therapy may have fewer side effects than other types of cancer treatments.

Bangalore-based HealthCare Global’s CyberKnife treatment for cancer is a form of targeted therapy. CyberKnife uses two cameras and infrared technology to continually adjust where it is sending the radiation. It checks the position of the tumor, checks the position of the patient, adjusts for any movement - patient or tumor - and then delivers the treatment accurately. The device allows radiologists to use higher doses of radiation without fear of damaging healthy tissues or causing uncomfortable side effects for cancer patients.

BS Ajaikumar, chairman and CEO of HCG, told FC Edge: “In the past 10 years, there has been great advancement in the field. But we have touched only the surface now. There are so many other markers that have not been identified yet. Nanotechnology, though it may sound futuristic, is already prevalent in different form. I certainly believe we are making a good progress and will find a perfect therapy to treat cancer.”

Biocon and HCG group have partnered to conduct a study to evaluate the potential benefits of BIOMAb EGFR, a molecule, to treat cervical cancer patients.

Harish Iyer, vice-president (R&D), Biocon, said: “If you package the drug differently, you may be able to target the cancer cells much better. The ultimate aim of nanotechnology is to deliver the medicine on the target. Nanotechnology will enable administering chemotherapy in a special way.”

Shiladitya Sengupta, assistant professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, has co-founded Bangalore-based Mitra Life Sciences, a cancer genomics company, with an objective to use genetic analysis and bio-informatics to predict the best combination of drugs for a tumor. According to Sengupta, this is the next frontier in cancer management or personalised medicine.

About nanotechnology in cancer treatment, he said: “The tumor blood vessels are very leaky, they have huge pores -- almost of 400 micrometers -- unlike normal blood vessels. If you inject nano-particles into the blood stream, they leak out of these pores into the tumor, where they get trapped. The advantage of using nanotechnology is that as a result you can get multiple-fold higher concentration of the drug inside the tumor as opposed to normal tissue, which increases the efficacy and reduces the side effects of chemotherapy”.

While nanotechnology is expected to open up many new dimensions in technical advancements, it may open up a way to develop a perfect therapy for this deadly disease.

Gene therapy

Advances in genetic engineering have set the stage for scientists to change a person's genetic material to fight or prevent disease. Gene therapy is an experimental treatment that involves introducing genetic material -- DNA or RNA -- into a person's cells to fight disease. Gene therapy is not currently available outside a clinical trial.

The following are the conventional methods of treatment in use:

Surgery: Cancer surgery is performing operation to remove cancer cells and some surrounding healthy tissue to ensure that all of the cancer is removed. This remains the foundation of cancer treatment. Cancer surgery may be the only treatment or it is supplemented with radiation or chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy: Here, certain drugs are used to destroy cancer cells. It works by stopping or decelerating the growth of cancer cells. But, in the process, it may also harm healthy cells. Also, over time, the cancer cells may develop resistance to chemotherapy drugs.

Radiation: Radiation therapy is a mode of treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and stop them from spreading. At low doses, radiation is used as an x-ray to see inside your body and take pictures. Radiation used in cancer treatment works in a similar way, except that it is used at higher doses.

Radiation may be given before, during or after chemotherapy. Before or during chemotherapy, radiation therapy can reduce the size of cancer so that chemotherapy can work better. Sometimes, chemotherapy is used to make radiation therapy work better.

Biological therapy: This is a type of treatment that works with the immune system. It can help fight cancer or help control side effects from other cancer treatments like chemotherapy. Biological therapy helps the immune system to fight cancer.