Scientists from Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Stanford, have developed a promising experimental therapy that could make cancer treatment more precise and less harsh.
What’s the Discovery?
The method combines tumor-targeted microbubbles with low-frequency ultrasound to attack cancer cells. These microbubbles are tiny gas-filled spheres engineered to stick to cancer cells. When ultrasound is applied, the bubbles expand, contract, and then explode. This explosion creates microscopic holes in the cancer cell membranes. Through those holes, therapeutic genes can enter the cells.
How Well Did It Work?
In tests on mice with breast cancer, the burst bubbles destroyed about 80% of the tumor cells.
The remaining tumor cells — ones not destroyed by explosion — were able to absorb genes injected at the same time, thanks to the temporary pores in the cell membranes. Those genes triggered the immune system to attack these cells.
Interestingly, in mice that had tumors on both sides of the body, scientists treated only one side. Still, the immune system also attacked the tumor on the untreated side. That hints this could potentially help fight tumor spread.
Why This Matters
Traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation can damage healthy tissues, causing severe side effects. This new approach could reduce collateral damage because it targets cancer cells more directly. It has two main benefits:
1. Precision: The microbubbles bind to cancer cells; the ultrasound triggers action only at the tumor site.
2. Dual action: First, kill most cancer cells directly; second, recruit the body’s immune system to clean up the rest.
Technical Details
The ultrasound frequency used is low (around 250 kHz) which allows the microbubbles to expand greatly before bursting.
Microbubbles are injected directly into tumors in the mice. They are “tumor-targeted,” meaning engineered to attach to cancer cell membranes.
The immune-boosting gene is co-injected. It cannot get into intact cancer cells otherwise, but after ultrasound causes pores, it can enter and help the immune system recognize and destroy those cells.
What’s Next & What’s Not Yet Known
This is still preclinical tested in mice only. Much work remains before seeing human trials.
Scientists are studying which genes or therapeutic agents work best with this method. Choosing the most effective immune-stimulating gene is key.
There are challenges to translate this safely: ensuring ultrasound targets only tumors, avoiding damaging surrounding tissue, scaling up production of targeted microbubbles, and confirming long-term safety.
This ultrasound + microbubble therapy offers a two-pronged attack on cancer: direct destruction and immune system activation. In breast cancer models in mice, it destroyed up to 80% of tumor cells. While further testing and refinement are needed, it holds promise as a more targeted, less harmful alternative to standard treatments.
Source: TAU-led Team Destroys Cancer Cells with Ultrasound, Tel Aviv University. Microbubbles and Ultrasound Bombard Tumors in Mice, Stanford Medicine.