Diagnosis and therapy
Scientists have found a way to safely destroy cancer cells in the cervix
A new effective method of diagnosis and treatment of precancerous condition of the cervix was proposed by scientists of the National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (NRU MEPhI) and the I. M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (I. M. Sechenov Moscow State Medical University). According to the authors, the effectiveness of the developed method was confirmed in all patients who participated in the study. The results are published in the journal Laser Physics Letters (Alekseeva et al., Combined spectral- and video-fluorescent diagnostics of cervical neoplasms for photodynamic therapy).
Treatment of cervical cancer remains an urgent problem of oncogynecology, since the currently widespread modern methods of diagnosing the disease most often involve surgical intervention. For example, in some cases, taking a tissue sample for a biopsy may be accompanied by undesirable phenomena and lead to dangerous consequences – uterine bleeding, the researchers noted.
The methods of fluorescence diagnostics proposed by scientists of the MEPhI and Sechenov Moscow State Medical University make it possible to obtain information about the state of tissues without affecting the biological processes occurring in them.
During fluorescence diagnostics and photodynamic therapy (PDT), a photosensitizer (photosensitive substance) is injected into the human blood. Tumor cells are able to accumulate such substances in much larger quantities compared to healthy cells. After a certain time, when most of the photosensitizer leaves normal cells, but remains in cancer cells, the tumor is exposed to laser radiation of a certain wavelength.
"The chlorin-series photosensitizer absorbs radiation and produces an active form of oxygen, which destroys nearby cancer cells and can damage blood vessels, thereby preventing cancer cells from receiving the necessary nutrients. In turn, the glow that occurs when the photosensitizer is excited by a laser is recorded using spectral and video fluorescence methods and allows you to accurately determine the boundaries of the tumor," commented Polina Alekseeva, a graduate student at the Institute of Laser and Plasma Technologies at MEPhI.
The graduate student also noted that the spectral-fluorescence diagnosis of cervical neoplasms allows you to control the PDT process at all stages of the procedure.
As a result of a clinical study conducted by scientists together with surgeons, all patients with morphologically confirmed diagnoses of "leukoplakia" (thickening and keratinization of the epithelium) and "cervical dysplasia" (precancerous condition) were successfully treated with PDT.
"Ten patients with morphologically confirmed diagnoses of "leukoplakia" and "cervical dysplasia" participated in the study. The protocol of the study was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the Levshin Institute of Cluster Oncology," said Viktor Loshenov, head of the study, Professor of the Engineering Physics Institute of Biomedicine at MEPhI.
After three months, complete regression of pathologically altered tissues (absence of tumor cells) was recorded in all patients. According to the results of the study, it was also confirmed that the use of this method contributes to the destruction of the human papillomavirus and allows you to maintain the normal physiological structure of the cervix, which is especially important for women planning pregnancy.
In the future, the research team of the MEPhI laboratory plans to improve the method of photodynamic therapy in order to change treatment tactics in a timely manner and avoid underexposure or overexposure, which could lead to relapses.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru