Can a blast of light really kill breast cancer?

By David Derbyshire
Last updated at 1:46 AM on 30th June 2009

A revolutionary treatment for breast cancer which destroys tumours with a blast of laser light was unveiled by doctors today.

The technique involves no surgery, can be carried out in only a few minutes and does not harm healthy cells.

A team of British surgeons plans to start clinical trials of 'photodynamic therapy' on 20 patients this year.

A woman receiving photodynamic therapy, which can be used to treat various cancers, including skin and breast

It is the first time worldwide that doctors will test the technique on primary breast cancer. Previously, it has been used on cancers of the skin and mouth.

The procedure is being pioneered by Mo Keshtgar, a world-renowned breast cancer surgeon, at the Royal Free Hospital in North London.

During photodynamic therapy, or PDT, a drug is injected into the patient's bloodstream which makes the cancer cells extremely sensitive to light.

Photodynamic therapy uses tumour-killing drugs that are activated by light

When a low-level laser beam is shone at the cancer through the skin, the cells self-destruct. Researchers, who announced their plans to start trials at the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition, said it could even offer an alternative to radiotherapy for some women.

'The key appeal is that it attacks and destroys cancer cells while retaining the viability of the surrounding normal cells,' said Mr Keshtgar.

A patient undergoing a mammogram to see if she has breast cancer

'Breast cancer can be particularly traumatic, with more invasive treatments leaving physical and emotional scars.

'Our treatment will keep the structure of the connective tissue intact, meaning the breast does not become deformed or lose shape.'

The drug - called a photosensitising agent - is injected directly into patients and finds its way into the breast's epithelial cells, lining cells which can become cancerous. The drug makes these cells highly sensitive to light.

Because tumours have high metabolic activity and are surrounded by a proliferation of new blood vessels, the drug accumulates in cancer cells in preference to healthy cells.

Once the drug has been taken up by the cancer cells, surgeons point a low-powered red laser at the tumour.

The light triggers a chemical reaction which kills the harmful cells. The drug loses its potency after a few hours.

However, patients are kept in a subdued
light for 24 hours after their treatment and then told to avoid bright sunlight for another 24 hours.

Mr Keshtgar said the technique could be available within six years, once it has been properly tested on volunteers.

The initial small-scale trial will be on breast cancer patients due to have mastectomies. They will have PDT just before their surgery, after which the tissue will be examined to determine the effects.

If the trials are promising, the team will recruit women to take part in a larger trial. They will be monitored for five years after their treatment.

Traditional treatment: Chemotherapy

Mr Keshtgar said the technique could help patients anxious about surgery or who are not well enough for invasive operations.

Dr Alexis Willett, head of policy at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: 'We welcome research into new therapies that may reduce the need for invasive treatment.

'It will be interesting to see how trials progress.'

PDT trials are already underway for cancers of the prostate, bile duct and pancreas.

Around 46,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK. It is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and accounts for nearly a third of cancers in women.

One in nine women will develop the disease at some point in their lives, while more than 1,000 die of it each month.

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Cancer campaign man's £50m target

David Longman wants to raise £50m to fund research into the treatment

A Cambridgeshire man is hoping to raise £50m to develop a cancer treatment which saved his daughter's life.

David Longman, from Hemingford Abbots, wants to help fund research trials for Photodynamic Therapy (PDT).

He came across PDT five years ago when his eldest daughter had a tumour which was destroyed by the treatment.

PDT uses laser, or other light sources, combined with a light-sensitive drug (sometimes called a photosensitising agent) to destroy cancer cells.

Simple treatment

Mr Longman, who is starting the campaign Killing Cancer in the autumn, said: "PDT is a very quick and simple treatment without the side-effects patients experience with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

"For patients who might otherwise have devastating surgery, PDT represents a very positive set of benefits to the patients.

"But for years funding for its development has been ignored by the major charitable funders."

PDT is currently approved for use to treat head and neck cancer, skin cancer, cancer in the lungs and the oesophagus.

Mr Longman wants PDT to be tested on brain tumours, throat cancer, lung cancer, bladder and colon cancer, Crohn's disease and liver tumours, cervical and vulval cancer, penile and prostate cancer.

'Changing cancer world'

He also wants PDT to be used to treat MRSA and as an alternative to a hysterectomy.

Mr Longman gave up his career in a bid to achieve "international recognition" for the treatment.

He said: "When we launch the campaign... I know we are going to completely change the cancer world.

"We are going to put the power of choice into the hands of the public, and we will raise the funds we need to develop the trials."

He added that hospitals in the UK and the USA were lined up to start the research, starting with PDT for breast cancer in London and Boston, US.

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Amazing solar-powered fridge invented by British student in a potting shed helps poverty-stricken Africans

By Chris Brooke

Last updated at 2:41 AM on 08th January 2009

It's the kind of simple yet brilliant invention that would have the tycoons of Dragons' Den salivating with excitement.

Not only is the fridge solar powered, it can also be built from household materials - making it ideal for the Third World.

Emily Cummins, 21, came up with the idea while working on a school project in her grandfather's potting shed. The fridge is now improving the lives of thousands of poverty-stricken Africans.

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Emily Cummins holds the portable eco-fridge. It can keep perishable goods, such as milk or meat, cool for days at a temperature of around 6C

And Miss Cummins hopes to patent a more sophisticated portable model for use in transporting medical supplies around hot countries.

From the age of four, when she was given a hammer as a gift, Miss Cummins has spent much of her spare time making things out of ordinary materials.

She has won awards for a toothpaste squeezer for arthritis sufferers and for a water-carrying device, again for Third World use.

Emily with her grandfather Peter Harrison, 78, in his potting shed where she created the fridge

Her 'sustainable' fridge works through evaporation and can be used to keep perishable goods such as milk and meat cool for days.

Without using any power, temperatures stay at around 6c.

The fridge comprises two cylinders - one inside the other. The inner cylinder is made from metal but the outer cylinder can be made from anything to hand, including wood and plastic.

Miss Cummins, from Keighley, West Yorkshire, said: 'A fridge is something that people can't seem to live without.

'I wanted to keep it really simple and so I set about researching how we cooled things years ago. The simplest method of cooling something could be seen when you look at how we cool biologically - through sweating or evaporation.

'That idea led me to the design and the fridge was born.'

After her A-levels she spent five months of her gap year in Africa, perfecting and demonstrating her product. In Namibia she became known as 'The Fridge Lady'. Miss Cummins returned to the UK to start a business management course at Leeds University.

She had been refused a place on an engineering course because, to her dismay, she didn't have the correct qualifications.

Last year she met the Queen at Buckingham Palace after being invited to a prestigious women in business event.

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