Over the years, there are a growing number of studies dedicated to finding the best solution to battle cancer. A new study discovered a new approach to defeating cancer cells.

New Approach to Battling Cancer

Instead of looking for a new medicine to combat cancer cells, the pharmacy researchers from the University of North Carolina converted skin cells into stem cells that go after cancer cells and kill it. By doing so, it will suppress and destroy the development of brain tumors or glioblastoma. This new approach is the first discovery in over three decades that presents a potential medication for cancer.

The new potential cancer treatment is inspired by a 2012 Nobel-Prize technology that allows scientists to transform a skin cell into "embryonic-like stem cells." Researchers are considering that this will be useful in producing regenerative medications and drug screening. However, aside from this, they learned that it could be used to fight brain cancer directly.

Glioblastoma

Glioblastomas are tumors that appear in astrocytes, the star-shaped neurological cell. These cells quickly reproduce because a large interconnection of blood vessels maintains it. For this reason, these types of tumors are malignant.

In fact, patients with this condition have a low survival rate. Only 30 percent of them made it beyond two years due to the complications in treating this type of cancer. Even if the tumor is already removed, if a tendril of cancer has already spread, it will likely return.

Most patients with glioblastoma died after one year and six months of their diagnosis. Due to their delicate condition, lead author Dr. Shawn Hingtgen believes that they need superior supervision than the standard care they receive.

Skin Cell Against Cancer Cells

"We wanted to find out if these induced neural stem cells would home in on cancer cells and whether they could be used to deliver a therapeutic agent. This is the first time this direct reprogramming technology has been used to treat cancer," Hingtgen said about their goal.

The team transformed fibroblasts into neural stem cells. They applied it to mice and learned that it has a natural ability to transport to the brain and destroy cancer cells. So, for cases where the tumor has been removed, but the cancerous tendrils survived and spread deeper, this is a potential treatment.

Moreover, the researchers also learned that they could manipulate the stem cells and use it to create tumor-killing proteins, which is another potential attack against the cancer cells.

Hingtgen and his team are now working on increasing the staying power of the stem cells because they learned that they need a physical matrix for support and organization. Otherwise, they will just roam around without serving its purpose.

The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.