Scientists Are Developing An Implant To Cure Cancer In Just 60 Days

A staggering breakthrough in cancer research could help save hundreds of thousands of cancer patients a year, according to scientists. Here's all about it in depth.

Rice University

What's happening?

Curing cancer could soon be as easy as a few taps on your mobile, according to a team of scientists who have received $45 million in funding for a novel, implant-based treatment system that could cut cancer death rates by 50%.

When and where?

Researchers from seven states led by Rice University in Houston, Texas, on Friday, developed a three-inch implantable device that works as both a cancer detection system and a drug administration system.

cancer cure

How will it work?

“Instead of tethering patients to hospital beds, IV bags and external monitors, we’ll use a minimally invasive procedure to implant a small device that continuously monitors their cancer and adjusts their immunotherapy dose in real time,” Omid Veiseh, a Rice bioengineer and principal investigator on the project, said in a statement.

"This kind of "closed-loop therapy" has been used for managing diabetes, where you have a glucose monitor that continuously talks to an insulin pump. But for cancer immunotherapy, it's revolutionary," said Veiseh.

Rice University

Why is it significant?

Researchers hope that the implant will only be needed for short-term use — eradicating the cancer in as little as 60 days.

“Cancer cells are continually evolving and adapting to therapy. However, currently available diagnostic tools, including radiologic tests, blood assays and biopsies, provide very infrequent and limited snapshots of this dynamic process,” Dr. Amir Jazaeri, a co-principal investigator and professor of gynecologic oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, said in a statement.

“As a result, today’s therapies treat cancer as if it were a static disease.”

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