• Question: Are we close to finding a cure to cancer that doesnt have many side effects?

    Asked by sexyscientistxoxo to Becky on 19 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Rebecca Cook

      Rebecca Cook answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      Finding treatments for cancer with very few side effects is difficult because cancer cells are still human cells so must drugs still harm some normal cells and give the patient bad side effects.

      There is promising new research at the moment that is working on development of new techniques that allow precise delivery of drugs to the tumour. Scientists are working on clever ways to direct special molecules to the site of the cancer and these molecules will also carry cancer killing drugs. Its is hoped that this way the only the cancer cells will get the drug and therefore no healthy cells will be affected which would mean very few side effects.

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