New wireless LED device uses light to destroy ‘deep-seated cancers’

For some cancers, light offers a powerful, minimally-invasive treatment. However, this light-activated drug therapy works wonders on surface cancers, but deeper ones are out of reach.

Researchers at the University of Notre Dame have created a wireless, implantable LED device for the treatment of “deep-seated cancers.”

Until now, light therapy has been ineffective as these tumors burrow deep within the body, surrounded by a complex network of tissue, blood, and bone that protects cancerous cells from the curative power of light.

Wireless LED device

The engineers and scientists have developed this new wireless, LED-device that works directly on the tumor. 

This rice grain-sized device consists of light-sensitive dye and packs a one-two punch. The light activates the dye, turning the cancer cells’ oxygen toxic. But that’s not all. This treatment also triggers a specific type of cell death, which is particularly good at alerting the immune system to the threat.

“Certain colors of light penetrate tissue deeper than other ones,” said Thomas O’Sullivan, associate professor of electrical engineering and co-author of the paper.

“It turns out that the kind of light, in this case green, that doesn’t penetrate as deeply, has the capability of producing a more robust response against the cancer cells.”

How it works

This device works through a multi-step process. First, a dye containing light-sensitive molecules is delivered to the cancer cells. It is injected directly into a cancerous tumor and triggered remotely using an external antenna. The dye absorbs the light and converts it into energy. 

This burst of energy within the cancer cells does the trick: it turns their own oxygen toxic, leading them to self-destruct. This cell death phenomenon is known as pyroptosis.

“Our goal is to induce just a little bit of pyroptotic cell death, which will then trigger the immune system to start attacking the cancer,” said Bradley Smith, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and co-author of the paper.

Smith added, “Working together, biochemistry graduate student, Hailey Sanders, and electrical engineering graduate student, SungHoon Rho, perceptively noted that the treated cells were swelling, which is the hallmark of a kind of cell death, pyroptosis, that’s particularly good at triggering the immune response.” 

The next stage will be to test this novel technology on mice. The press release explained that the idea is to discover if the immune system can detect and attack another tumor on its own after being primed by one treatment. This might be a major changer in the fight against deep-rooted tumors.

The researchers envision this device as a multi-talented tool. Apart from delivering targeted light therapy, this tiny device will also act as a real-time monitor, allowing doctors to fine-tune the treatment based on the tumor’s response.

In the fight against cancer, a disease affecting millions worldwide, researchers are exploring diverse treatment options. This has led to significant progress in light-based therapies in recent years. Scientists from NTU, Singapore, recently announced another promising development of x-ray-activated compounds for targeted brain cancer treatment.

The findings have been reported in the journal Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy.