Gold nanoparticles help fight brain tumors

Imagine eradicating brain tumors by injecting them with gold nanoparticles and activating the particles with synchrotron radiation. That’s the groundbreaking new approach being developed at ESRF by researchers from INAC and INSERM. They successfully tested the new procedure on rodents, improving survival rates significantly compared with a control group treated with radiation alone.
Because the gold nanoparticles absorb more low-energy radiation (88 keV) than their environment, the radiation targets the nanoparticle-rich tumor cells and leaves the healthy tissue alone.
The researchers hope their new method can eventually be used to treat glioblastomas, which are currently incurable. The average life expectancy for people with this type of brain tumor is 15 months—a mere 3 months longer than it was 20 years ago.

Contact: jean-luc.ravanat@cea.fr

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