Scientists of UoC present a nano technique to target and kill breast cancer stem cells

 Researchers at the Institute of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IBMBB) of The University of Colombo has devised a new technique to target and kill breast cancer stem cells.

 Which are considered to form the root of many cancers that are hard to treat with available chemo and radiotherapy treatments. The researchers developed nanotechnology assisted targeted delivery system containing a natural compound isolated from an endemic plant from Sri Lanka and a protein which can selectively bind with a protein present on the cell the membrane of breast cancer stem cells.  

This research is led by Dr. Sameera R Samarakoon at the Institute of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IBMBB) and Professor Kamani Tennekon, Professor Neelika Malavige, Professor Nedra Karunarathne, Dr. Meran Keshawa Ediriweera, Ms. Uma Rajagopalan and Mr. Amal Hulangamuwa have helped him to achieve his research goals.

As we all know cancer is a dreadful disease with limited treatment options.  A number of researches are being carried out worldwide to develop a permanent cure for cancer. Unfortunately, a permanent treatment option has not been developed yet.  Cancer stem cells are found in tumors and possess unique characteristics. They are resistant to chemo and radiotherapies can travel unnoticed by our immune system to form new tumors at any location in the body, which is known as metastasis. 

Research in the field of cancer stem cells is uphill as specifically targeting cancer stem cells has been tough," Dr. Samarakoon said. "There are even limited detection methods available to detect these cancer stem cells”. Dr. Samarakoon further stated that a significant improvement has been achieved in research work they conduct to identify novel plant-derived natural compounds that can target breast cancer stem cells. He has initiated this work with a grant received to him by the National Research Council of Sri Lanka, 2014. Then the National Science Foundation has provided financial support for the current development.

He added that any Sri Lankans who live abroad can also contribute to our research work financially and “depending on the funds we have we are planning to include our new drug candidate in clinical trials”.