Nanomedicine centre to tackle child cancer

New ways to treat one of the trickiest types of tumours in children will be tackled at a new cutting-edge medical research centre.
The Australian Centre for Nanomedicine at the University of NSW in Sydney is the first of its kind in the country and brings together experts in nanotechnology, engineering and chemistry.
The experts will use their collective talents to develop organic nanoparticles which could possibly one day revolutionise treatments for diseases including cancer.

Nanoparticles are measured in millionths of a millimetre and can be used in a variety of ways such as adding them to drugs or help "switch off" certain genes linked to certain diseases.
One of the centre's first projects will be to develop new ways to treat neuroblastoma, the most common tumour in children under five and one which only 40-50 per cent of youngsters survive.
In most cases, the tumour quickly spreads through the child's body and is difficult to treat.
Their current treatments include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and bone marrow transplants.
But experts at the centre hope to develop a special nanoparticle to stop the cancer spreading.
"We are trying to develop a magnetic nanoparticle that we can load up with genetic material to switch off one of the genes that is involved in the spread of the cancer," the centre's co-director Maria Kavallaris told AAP.
"We may be able to use the nanoparticles in combination with the other treatments or they could allow us to reduce the doses of the drugs given to children."
The UNSW has provided the initial funding for the new centre but the researchers there hope they will also be able to secure grants from the NSW and federal governments in the future.
Nanomedicine is a growing field and is regarded as having the potential to dramatically change medical science.
"The area is still in its infancy in that we have a long way to go but a centre such as this really is unique in the sense we have brought together three disciplines from faculties of medicine, science and engineering to really work in a collaborative manner to come up with new advances," Prof Kavallaris said.
"And it's not just cancer. There are also other diseases that can also be treated with nanoparticles."
As well as its neuroblastoma project, the centre will also focus on new treatments for conditions including lung cancer and chronic liver disease as well as new pain management drugs.