“It’s the most lethal cancer there is” according to the UW Madison press release about a potential therapy for the brain cancer Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM).
Non-Invasive Brain Cancer Treatment It's the most lethal cancer there is. The only good thing about it is that, if left untreated, death is relatively quick and pain-free, since this tumor does not form painful metastases in other parts of the body," says De Stasio.Working with the Synchrotron Radiation Center in Stoughton, UW-Madison Physics Professor Gelsomina De Stasio is researching ways to introduce the element gadolinium into the nuclei only of cancer cells. In theory, x-rays would then cause the element to emit electrons that damage DNA in a very narrow area around the gadolinium atoms thus killing only the diseased cells. The process is similar Gadolinium Neutron Capture Therapy - a cancer treatment that De Stasio likens to "making a microscopic nuclear bomb explode in each cancer cell." The difference is that x-rays are used to generate the photoelectric effect rather than using thermal neutrons, which are difficult to generate for clinical purposes.
