Funny girl CE grad brings N OakRBay High A A toTreunion visit SUMMERCLElaughs
’S MANAGER
!
OW SALE ON N
EVEN
Page A9
NEWS: Oak Bay fan sets sights on Sportsnet /A3 ARTS: Victoria violinist earns international award /A8 SPORTS: Baseball’s Blackout ready for B.C.’s best /A12
OAK BAYNEWS Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Offer Expires August 13, 2013
BY14 vicnews.com
Nanoparticles may be key to cancer cure Edward Hill News staff
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer for men in Canada, affecting one in seven, and killing about 16 per cent of those diagnosed. If it’s caught early, the survival rate is high but beyond invasive biopsies, methods for early detection are controversial and prone to false-positives. Researchers at the University of Victoria are developing distinctly separate high-tech techniques that could lead to relatively easy early detection and non-invasive treatment of prostate cancer. One method uses microscopic nanoparticles and the other concentrated beams of sound, but both hold promise to save lives down the road.
Nanoparticles, a cargo against cancer
Sharon Tiffin/News staff
Up close to what’s under the sea Natasha McRae, 5, reacts to the underside of a chiton as Tessa Mclaughlin from World Fisheries Trust teaches her about the sea life in a sequarium brought to Willows Beach as part of MEC Paddlefest. Kids and adults were treated to a close-up look at scallops, sea stars, crabs, sea cucumbers and sea urchins in the travelling tank. The group has touch tanks at the Esquimalt-Gorge Park Nature House open Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for everyone to experience and learn more about sea life.
Frank van Veggel places a small vial of clear liquid in the path of a laser and it glows neon green, proof of the microscopic nanoparticles inside. Nanoparticles, objects on the scale of a billionth of a metre, could be the ticket to better imaging of tumours and possibly as a delivery system to kill the cancer itself. The chemistry professor is developing the technology at his UVic lab in partnership with the Victoria branch of the B.C. Cancer Agency. Currently, the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test and digital rectal exams are the most common ways to detect prostate cancer. PSA tests look for changes in PSA levels over time – a rapid increase could indicate cancer, or it could be something unrelated. Digital rectal exams examine changes and irregularities in the prostate, which may or may not mean the disease is present. A biopsy typically is needed to confirm cancer. “It’s complicated to have specific tests for prostate cancer. That tells us it is a huge challenge,” Van Veggel says. Van Veggel started talking with the BCCA about using nanoparticles a decade ago, and since then has received eight patents and has two more under review related to developing nano-technology for imaging.
Get your In-offi Smile ready for summer ce bleaching available. Dr. Cheryl Handley & Dr. David Todd
Family & Cosmetic Dentistry • Implants • Invisalign NEW PATIENTS & EMERGENCIES WELCOME • 2108 OAK BAY AVE • 250 598 1313
PlEASE SEE: ‘Listening’ for disease, Page A7