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25 April 2013 09:09
Scientists have made a breakthrough in pancreatic cancer treatment
Scientists have developed radioactive microbes that work like missiles tipped with atomic warheads to treat one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Tests in mice show how the altered bacteria, a weak variety of Listeria that causes food poisoning, almost eradicates pancreatic cancer without causing any harm to healthy tissue.
The bug destroys cancerous cells by blasting them with short, highly targeted radioactive emissions. The tests in mice that had a particularly aggressive form of the cancer saw the spread of the disease decrease dramatically.
Study author Dr Claudia Gravekamp said seeing a 90% reduction in spread of the disease in the opening experiments using the technique was "encouraging".
Dr Gravekamp, from New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said the approach needs more work but it could begin a whole new era in the way pancreatic cancer is treated.
Some 8,400 people are diagnosed with the form of cancer in the UK every year and they are advised to arrange travel insurance for cancer patients to be fully covered when heading abroad.
The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
18 October 2018
The UK's average life expectancy is predicted to increase from 80.8 years to 83.3 years over the next 20 years, according to new research.
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17 October 2018
Family doctors are being urged to prescribe physical activity for patients living with some of the most common medical conditions.
16 October 2018
Patients with brain tumours lose out on almost £15,000 per year, a new report has revealed.
13 October 2018
Chris Grayling has given his "categorial assurance" to Parliament that a no-deal Brexit will not ground flights in and out of the UK, despite recent warnings from experts that this remains a possibility.
12 October 2018
The rising cost of fuel could force more airlines out of business, the boss of easyJet has warned.
11 October 2018
The image of the boozy backpacker might be a thing of the past as a new study suggests more and more youngsters are shunning alcohol completely.
10 October 2018
The NHS says just one in 10 drinks sold in English hospitals will be sugar-sweetened, as part of its bid to curb rising obesity levels.
09 October 2018
More than 260,000 diabetes patients were put at risk of lasting harm or even death during hospital stays last year due to medication errors, a new report has revealed.
06 October 2018
NHS patients with a specific type of lymphoma will soon be able to access a "game-changing" new treatment, health officials have revealed.
05 October 2018
People living with diabetes are being warned they might be "unwittingly" storing their insulin incorrectly.
04 October 2018
The world's first commercial jet part-powered by a new form of biofuel touches down in London on Wednesday (3rd October).
03 October 2018
New 'hotel-style' carriages that were due to be rolled out for the Caledonian Sleeper have been delayed until next year.