Researchers have created experimental eye drops that use a molecule derived from pig semen that could treat a rare form of eye cancer, according to a recent study.
Researchers have created experimental eye drops that use a molecule derived from pig semen that could treat a rare form of cancer, according to a recent study.The eye drops were used in mice to target retinoblastoma, a type of eye cancer commonly found in children.
Researchers used a sperm cell’s ability to penetrate barriers and deliver treatment to the back of the eye without damaging the surrounding tissue."Given that the majority of affected patients are young children, eye-preserving and toxicity-minimizing therapies are critically important for their lifelong well-being," study co-author Yu Zhang, a pharmaceutics researcher at Shenyang Pharmaceutical University in China, told Live Science.The tumor sizes in the mice that received the experimental treatment were reduced in size. After 30 days, the tumors were about 2% to 3% of the size of those in untreated mice. Researchers believe that the use of sperm-delievered treatment in the eye could also treat other forms of eye disease, such as macular degeneration. Retinoblastoma is a kind of eye cancer that starts growing in the retina, according to the Mayo Clinic. It is often diagnosed in young children and accounts for about 3% of childhood cancers, according to the American Cancer Association's website.About 2 out of 3 retinoblastoma tumors are diagnosed in children younger than 2 years old but the prognosis for many cases are positive. Overall, more than 9 out of 10 retinoblastoma cases in children in the United States are cured.
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