Red-Blue Cancer Treatment

[arcticpenguin]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2757463.stm

A potential cancer treatment utilizes red light, blue dye and a plant hormone.

[Soapy Sam]

How long is a piece of government regulated string?
Months to decades, depending on demand , importance etc.

[spoonhandler]

I realise this is a piece of fluffy news reporting, so the details aren't there, but in answer to the question, how long before something like this becomes available, the answer may be anywhere between never and 10 years.

They don't specify what tumour/cancer cells were used in their in vitro experiments. It looks like their suggesting breast cancer (based on the pic in the article), but cell lines are notoriously tricky. What kills them in a culture flask may have no effect in vivo or worse, may have the opposite effect. It's so very complicated! :mad:

Guess what wall I'm beating my head against... :)

It's also a lot easier to deliver your therapy to cells in a dish than a tumour in someone's body.

Ultimately, they'll look to try the treatment method in patients. Depending on how convincing their current research is, they may begin human trials within the next couple of years. They may not need to test in animals first. As this work is being carried out in the UK, the trials are likely to be carried out there, although this is not always the case.

You can also contact Cancer Research UK directly to get more information on current and upcoming trials (http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/) - participation in trials has been shown to improve patient outcome, even when enrolled in the control (placebo) arm of a trial.