‘Monorail’ plan may divert cancer cells from organs and stop them spreading

Scientists in the US have invented a “monorail” system which could stop cancer cells from spreading by diverting them out of a vital organ into an inhospitable part of the body where they will not be able to survive.

The researchers at Georgia Tech have initially focused on cancerous brain tumours. They said that one of the factors which makes such cancers hard to treat successfully is that the malignant cells spread throughout the brain by following nerve fibres and blood vessels to invade new locations.

“We have designed a polymer thin-film nanofibre that mimics the structure of nerves and blood vessels that brain tumour cells normally use to invade other parts of the brain,” said Ravi Bellamkonda, the lead investigator. “The cancer cells normally latch onto these natural structures and ride them like a monorail to other parts of the brain. By providing an attractive alternative fibre, we can efficiently move the tumours along a different path to a destination that we choose.”