Texas A&M University researchers are collaborating on a new project that studies how ultrasound and light can treat melanomas in pigs.
Texas A&M University researchers are collaborating on a new project that studies how ultrasound and light can treat melanomas in pigs.
Recent medical advancements have made it possible to use light to shrink and kill cancer cells in what is called photodynamic therapy, but some types of cancer, like melanomas, don’t respond well to this new treatment.
« In photodynamic therapy, we introduce a chemical that is absorbed by skin cancer cells. The chemical only reacts when exposed to a certain kind of light, which causes new molecules to form that destroy the cancer cells », said Dr. Vanderlei Bagnato, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
« We are able to use photodynamic therapy to eliminate about 95% of lesions for non-melanoma skin cancers. It is very cost-effective and non-invasive », Bagnato said.
« But treating melanomas with light-based therapy is problematic for several reasons. First, the pigment in the cancer cells sometimes interferes with the light. Secondly, melanomas are more prone than other skin cancers to regrow and metastasize—or spread to other parts of the body—if they are not removed completely. »
Developing a more effective way to treat melanoma using photodynamic therapy could open doors for low-cost, non-invasive treatments in pigs, humans and other mammals.
« In addition to advancing human medicine, we’re hoping that this project can bring photodynamic therapy to veterinary medicine—not just in pigs but in other species that develop melanomas, too », said Dr.
