SCIENTISTS at the University of York have discovered a potential new treatment for prostate cancer.
The study uses low temperature plasmas (LPTs) on cells grown from patient tissue samples. The work was part of a collaboration between York Plasma Institute and the Cancer Research Unit.
Scientists compared the effectiveness of the treatment on healthy prostate cells and prostate cancer tissue cells from a single patient. They discovered LTPs may be an option for treatment of patients with organ confined prostate cancer and a cost-effective alternative to current treatments.
LPTs change the way cell death happens when compared to other therapies. They break up DNA and destroy cells by necrosis, while current treatments make cells die from natural means —which can cause treatment resistance.
Adam Hirst, a PhD student at the York Plasma Institute, has been working with Dr Fiona Frame on the project. He said: “Long-term treatment for prostate cancer is still recognised as inadequate.
“Around a third of patients will experience recurrence of their disease following radiotherapy. We have presented the first experimental evidence promoting the potential of LTP as a future focal cancer therapy treatment for patients with early stage prostate cancer.”
The next step will see scientists trial the method on replica tumours. If successful, LTP could be used to treat cancer patients within 10 to 15 years.
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