The Brief
- Two USF medical engineering professors have created a treatment that delivers cancer drugs directly into tumor cells, avoiding widespread chemotherapy side effects.
- Their technology is already shrinking tumors in animals and is entering a year-long melanoma trial in dogs.
- FDA approval could open the door for human clinical trials as early as 2026.
TAMPA – USF medical engineering professors Dr. Richard Heller and Dr. Mark Jaroszeski have spent more than three decades developing a targeted cancer-treatment technology that avoids traditional chemotherapy and surgery.
Big picture view:
Their technique uses pulsed electric fields combined with mild heat to temporarily open tumor cells. This allows therapeutic molecules, including drug therapy paired with immunotherapy, to enter the cells directly.…