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61348.jpg=If left untreated by chemotherapy drugs or radiation, cancer cells like these often multiply rapidly.|78049.jpg=Microgravity provides scientists on the ISS with a unique research environment for developing medicines and other benefits for human health.|25775.jpg=Microcapsules can even help doctors see if the cancer medicines are reaching their targets!|2779.jpg=Developing effective treatments against diseases like cancer requires deep understanding of cells.
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Health Advances
 
Cancer ... The C word … A disease that affects millions every year. Fortunately, many people around the world survive cancer thanks to advances in treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. However, often those treatments damage healthy cells while combating the cancerous tumors. It's like poisoning healthy plants when trying to kill the weeds growing around them. Imagine better targeting the weeds — you know, the cancer cells! Because of research on the International Space Station, cancer treatment is moving toward being much more precise thanks to microcapsules. These microscopic "balloons" can help doctors deliver cancer-killing drugs more effectively to the cancer cells, avoiding many negative side effects on healthy cells.
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No question, cancer is a killer. However, for millions of people around the world, getting diagnosed with cancer is not the death sentence it once was. Better equipment and better awareness have led to earlier detection for many people. (The earlier you discover it, the less time the cancer has to spread.) Plus, improved cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy have also increased survival rates.
And research on microcapsules on the ISS has the strong potential to increase the effectiveness of treatment.
Before describing more about how that is likely to happen, it's important first to describe how cancerous cells grow and spread.
Cancer cells are abnormal cells that grow at a rapid rate. Normally, the cells in our tissues know when to stop multiplying and get rid of abnormal cells (sometimes called "mutated" cells) by letting them die off. Cancer cells become a problem because they continue to multiply, often creating a large collection of cancerous cells called a tumor. If left alone, the tumors typically grow because the cancer cells multiply — taking over and destroying healthy cells as the cancer grows and spreads.
Cancer treatment focuses on stopping that growth. Surgery is a way to remove the tumor. However, sometimes surgery is not possible, and sometimes there are cancerous cells that remain even after surgery removes a tumor. Radiation sends highly charged waves that target the cancer cells and damage the cells' DNA to kill those cells. Radiation often kills healthy cells near the cancer cells. Chemotherapy delivers drugs that seek out cells that multiply rapidly (like cancer cells) to destroy them. There are also some healthy cells that multiply rapidly (such as cells responsible for hair growth), so they often die as a result of the chemo, too.
Typically, chemotherapy drugs are delivered intravenously (into a vein) in the forearm. (Sometimes it's taken orally as a pill.) Microcapsules offer a new way to deliver the drugs to the cancer, and a new way to evaluate how effective the drugs are in killing the cancer cells. Microcapsules are microscopic "balloons" that are filled with the cancer drugs. Upon reaching their targets (the cancer cells), the microcapsules biodegrade and release the drugs gradually. They can travel through veins like chemo, but they can also be delivered even more directly with an injection, thanks in part to their ability to release the drugs gradually.
One other cool aspect of microcapsules is that scientists can give the microcapsules what's called a "contrast agent" which allows them to see the microcapsules inside someone's body using X-ray, ultrasound, or a C-T scan! (The contrast agent is like a highlighter.) Being able to monitor the release of drugs allows doctors to see if the drugs are reaching an entire tumor, as well as determine if the drugs are effective in killing the cancer cells. The contrast agents even allow doctors to guide the microcapsules to their targets!
The research on the ISS has been a HUGE asset in making microcapsules a reality. Because of the weightless environment, scientists are able to experiment and find drug combinations that can be used in microcapsules to treat diseases. This happens because drugs that normally do not mix together on Earth (similar to the way that oil and water don't mix) react differently on the ISS — there is no gravity keeping them separated. Without gravity, scientists can test and evaluate different drug combinations much more effectively.
As a result of the work on the ISS, there are at least 5 patents for microencapsulation products! And many of them have been developed on Earth using equipment that recreates the quality of the microcapsules developed in space. In fact, microcapsules are now part of clinical trials on Earth for treating cancer — trials that everyone hopes will increase survival rates and decrease negative side effects for cancer patients!
Steven, Missing my uncle
You should definitely check out the full description! It's cool! My favorite uncle passed from lung cancer. I want to be a doctor. An oncologist, actually. I think this microcapsule focus might make a big difference. Microcapsules give doctors the ability to see if and how much of the drugs are attacking a tumor! Amazing! My uncle was so funny. When he was going through chemo and radiation, he'd joke about his bald head. But he was bald even before the chemo! He would also joke about how when I was older, we'd look back on cancer treatment like the way that we now look at some of the crazy things doctors used to do. He was sorta joking and sorta not, you know what I'm saying?
Chris, I HATE cancer!!
My mom is a breast cancer survivor. Ten years now! (She was only 32 when she got it.) I was too young to remember chemo, but she still talks about how sick she got during chemo. Some foods she still won't eat because she had them during chemo, and she associates them with that experience. Maybe these microcapsules will make the treatment a lot less painful. But I have to say, my mom is REALLY grateful that she did chemo. So am I ☺
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