One of the biggest problems in cancer treatment is the high toxicity of the drugs used in this treatment; they destroy not only cancer cells, but also healthy ones. However, drugs are being developed today that can target solely the cancer cells, leaving the healthy ones unharmed. The basis of such medicines is nanotechnology, as Prashant Kesharwani, a scientist working on such developments, told NEWS.am Medicine.

They develop medicines that are safer for patients, and have minimal toxicity and maximum therapeutic effect, he noted.

And how does it work?

It is about drugs based on nanoparticles, which have been created in such a way that after entering the patient's body, they reach the diseased cells and can connect only with them. For example, in pancreatic cancer, the CD44 receptor is overexpressed in the cancer cells, which can bind to hyaluronic acid molecules. Nanoparticles created by scientists on the basis of hyaluronic acid, which also contain the desired drug, after entering the body, bind to CD44 receptors, and therefore enter only cancer cells, while all healthy ones are bypassed. The drug, as a result, affects only the diseased cells. This approach is called “targeted drug delivery.”

This mechanism is similar to the "one key, one lock" concept; the lock can only be opened with one key and no other key, and this key can only open this lock, it does not match the others. These drugs work in exactly the same way: they connect only to cells that have certain receptors, and do not touch other cells, explained Kesharwani.

When will these developments become reality?

Medicines based on nanoparticles are already a reality today. As the specialist noted, there is already a breast cancer treatment drug on the market, Abraxane, which is based on nanotechnology, with the described mechanism of action.

Many more such drugs are expected in the future. Some are currently undergoing or have already undergone clinical trials, and the expert expects more nanotechnology-based cancer treatments to be on the market in a year or two.

Prashant Kesharwani is one of the speakers at the 8th International USERN Congress being held in Armenia’s capital Yerevan, from Wednesday to Friday. This event is known for bringing science and art together, enabling art to "translate" science into a "language" that is more understandable to the general population.