New laser technology can kill melanoma cells

Technique Cytophone uses laser light pulses from outside the skin to heat malignant tumor cells and destroy them.

Researchers from the University of Arkansas Medical School, USA (UAMS) on June 12 said they have successfully developed and tested a new laser that can find and kill melanoma cancer cells (melanoma ) without taking a sample. The method can help detect tumor cells early and prevent them from spreading to other parts of the body through the blood.

Cytophone technology successfully tested on people.(Photo: Independent).

The new technology, dubbed Cytophone , uses pulses of laser light from outside the skin to heat diseased cells. This laser only affects malignant melanoma cells without hurting healthy cells, because they contain a lot of melanin that is highly absorbing light. Cytophone then uses ultrasound technology to detect small waves emitted by this heating effect, thereby helping to detect and destroy diseased cells.

Cytophone technology does not harm the skin even though skin cells also produce melanin naturally. This is because laser light is scattered across a large area of ​​the skin, so it does not focus enough on individual skin cells to damage them, experts explained.

The team tested Cytophone technology by projecting lasers into the hands of 47 volunteers, including 19 healthy people and 28 patients with malignant tumors. Results showed that within 10 seconds to 60 minutes, Cytophone could identify cancer cells in 27 of the 28 patients. Laser technology has been shown to be 1,000 times more sensitive than conventional blood sampling methods.

Previously, to test the spread of cancer, doctors often had to take blood samples. However, this method is often difficult to detect tumor cells, especially in patients with early stage cancer. Cases of positive test results often mean high levels of tumor cells circulating in the blood, when the cancer has spread to other organs and the disease becomes "too late" for treatment. , the lead author of the study, Vladimir Zharov from UAMS said.

The team hopes to continue improving Cytophone technology, allowing the detection of tumor cells caused by cancers other than malignant melanoma. The work of the research team was published in the medical journal Science Translistic Medicine.