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The international project is a collaboration between Australia`s Deakin University and Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore along with Barwon Health`s Andrew Love Cancer Centre and Chem Genex Pharmaceuticals.
The team has, in fact, created the world`s first RNA aptamer, a chemical antibody that acts like a guided missile to seek out and bind only to cancer stem cells, the `Cancer Science` journal reported.
The aptamer has the potential to deliver drugs directly to the stem cells (the root of cancer cells) and also to be used to develop a more effective cancer imaging system for early detection of the disease, say the scientists.
The Director of Deakin Medical School`s Nanomedicine Program, Professor Wei Duan, said that the development of the aptamer had huge implications for the way cancer is detected and then treated.
Prof Duan said: "Despite technological and medical advances, the survival rates for many cancers remain poor, due partly to the inability to detect cancer early and then provide targeted treatment.
