A New Light on Fighting Brain Cancer: Combining Drugs and Heat

Brain cancer called glioblastoma is tough to treat. One problem is that the single drugs we use often don't reach the tumor well and the tumor's environment can make these drugs less effective. Scientists are now trying a new approach that involves using light and heat to kill cancer cells. This method, called NIR-II photoacoustic imaging-guided chemo-photothermal therapy, uses a special type of light that can pass through our bodies easily.Researchers created tiny particles filled with a drug and a special dye. They also added a substance that helps our immune system fight the cancer. These particles can be guided to the tumor with the special light, which also triggers the drug to work better. Once in the tumor, the particles release the drug and the heat from the light kills the cancer cells. This approach not only kills the cancer cells but also helps our immune system work better against the tumor. In tests with mice that had brain cancer, this method worked better than the usual treatments.