Nano liposomes with TRAIL kill CTC's

Fallleaves

This was a mouse study involving prostate cancer, but TRAIL is a protein that causes apoptosis in breast cancer cells as well. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/16011...

"King's laboratory created nano-sized liposomes with a protein called TRAIL (Tumor Necrosis Factor Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand) that attach to leukocytes (white blood cells). The liposomes are about one-one hundredth the size of the white blood cells. As the white blood cells travel throughout the bloodstream, the hitchhiking TRAIL protein kills the tumor cells -- leaving the bloodstream free of cancer.

In the study, prostate cancer cells were implanted into the prostate of male mice to let the tumors grow. The researchers found that secondary tumors were prevented by the treatment and that the primary tumor shrunk in size.

While treated mice showed no metastases, the circulating tumor cell count remained greatly reduced but not completely zero, which leads scientists to believe "you don't have to be perfect in completely eliminating circulating tumor cells to observe a very good outcome," said King.

Further, the King group found that a single dose of the therapy -- even delivered very late in the course of the disease -- can substantially reduce the number of tumor cells. King said: "This suggests that it may never be too late to help."