Welcome to rfnanocancer.com, the website for the Steven Curley, M.D./Paul Cherukuri, Ph.D. research group at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. We have initiated a new research program with collaboration from scientists at Rice University in Houston, Texas. This study utilizes an invention of a cancer patient, John Kanzius. Mr. Kanzius has developed a noninvasive radiofrequency (RF) field generator designed to kill malignant tumors by heating the cancer cells.

For this system to work, molecules or particles must be present in the cancer cells that release heat in the presence of the RF field. We are evaluating both carbon and gold nanoparticles placed into the cancer cells to release heat when treated with the RF device. Our initial results have been quite remarkable. We have found that carbon nanotubes release amazing amounts of heat when exposed to the RF field. The gold nanoparticles also heat at impressive rates and both particles placed into cancer cells have been able to kill human cancer cells completely following treatment in the RF field.

We have also tested the carbon nanoparticles in malignant tumors growing in the liver of rabbits. Our initial experiments have shown that the presence of the carbon nanotubes followed by treatment with the RF field device led to complete destruction of the tumors. Importantly, there was no damage to any other structures or organs in the animals. A particularly fascinating component of this work is that this RF field generator can theoretically be used to treat cancers in any site of the body. It may also be possible to treat not only solid cancers like colon cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, brain cancer, pancreas cancer, and liver cancer, but also lymphomas and leukemias. It is rare that a cancer treatment approach can have such broad, sweeping application possibilities.