With reports from the World Health Organization that Korean men rank #1 in Asia for the occurrence of colorectal cancer, Korean researchers have discovered a treatment that kills colorectal cancer cells with nanotechnology using minute particles that have the thickness of merely a ten-thousandth of a hair.

The research team led by Professors CHO Nam Hyuk and SEONG Seung-Yong of SNU's College of Medicine and a research team led by Professor KIM Young-Keun of Korea University's Department of Materials Science and Engineering are the developers of this new treatment method. Their technology enables patients' immune systems to efficiently attack colorectal cancer by attaching the protein produced by colorectal cancer cells to special nanoparticles.

"T-cells," immune cells that attack cancer cells and the bacteria which have entered the human body from the outside, are the advance guard in the fight against cancer. Dendritic cells are the 'drill sergeants' that train these soldiers. Researchers have attached antigens of colorectal cancer to particles that are 10 nanometers in diameter and injected these particles into the dendritic cells in order to train the T-cells.

Professor Seong explained that"This technology is expected to be put into actual use for colorectal cancer patients within 3 to 4 years." The paper containing their results was published in the online edition of the renowned journal Nature Technology on August 11, 2011.

Written by KIM Eun Young, SNU English Editor, eykim09@gmail.com ?
Proofread by Brett Johnson, SNU English Editor, morningcalm2@gmail.com