Golden Nanostars Hold Promise for Cancer Vaccine

Golden Nanostars Hold Promise for Cancer Vaccine
Aug-21-17
Immunotherapy and golden nanostars could one day offer a vaccine for cancer.

Developed by a team from Duke University, the nanostars combine with immunotherapy to offer a two-level way to fight cancer—and a potential vaccine. The nanostars are part of photothermal therapy, and will gather inside tumors after being injected into the patient. Once in place, external lasers heat up the nanostars, causing them to destroy the cancer cells.

In tests on mice, combining immunotherapy with gold nanostars proved more effective than either process alone by triggering the immune system to hunt out the remaining cancer cells. But most exciting, the dual-treated mice showed an immunity to cancer a month after treatment—proving the method could offer a vaccine for cancer.

Thumbnail: a cancer-fighting nanostar

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[NEWATLAS.COM]
[PRATT.DUKE.EDU]
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