CancerKillingNanoRobotos

StatementofPurpose

Problem(23):
Canceroneofthedeadliestandmostprevalentdiseasesinourmodernsociety.Cancer
referstoagroupofdiseasesinvolvingabnormalcellgrowththatofteninvadeotherpartsofthe
body.Thoughnotalltumorsarecancerous(theseareknownasbenigntumors)manyoftenare,
andcanbeoftenlifethreateningifnotquicklytreated.Oneespeciallydangerousformofcancer
ispancreaticcancer.
Pancreaticcancerisanespeciallydangerousformofcancer.Therearefewdefinitive
riskfactorsforit,althoughitisthoughtthatsmokingandanunhealthydietmaybeclosely
correlated.Itisalsooneofthefewcancersforwhichaveragesurvivaltimehasnotimproved
overthelast40years.Thisismainlyduetoitslackofeasilyvisiblesymptomsanddeceptively
rapidonset.Pancreaticcancerhasnosymptomsintheearlystages,andinthelatestage,
symptomsarenonspecific,suchaslossofappetite,paintheabdomen,andweightloss.
Anotherproblemwithpancreaticcanceristhatitisoftenfoundinthelatestage,andby
then,thereislittledoctorscandotohelpsavethepatient.Thisisoftenrelatedtothefactthat
pancreaticcancerdoesnthaveanyvisiblesymptomsuntilverylateintoitsprogression.Bythis
time,thecancerhasusuallyspreadtootherpartsofthebody,oftentheliver,andcompletely
engulfedthepancreas.Modernmedicinecannotsavethematthisstageitcanonlymakethem
comfortable.

PreviousAttemptedSolutions(24):
Therearevariouswaystotreatpancreaticcancer.Thoughmostarentableto
completelyremovethecancercells,italldependsonthestageandtypeofcancer.Theonly
waytocompletelyremovethecanceristhroughsurgery.Surgeryisusuallyusedalongwith
othertreatments,butinsomecases,itisabletoremovethecancercompletely.Todetermine
theextentofthecancerthroughoutthebody,doctorssometimeshavetoconducta
laparoscopy.Thisiswheredoctorsmakeacoupleincisionsintheabdomenandinsertathin
instrumentwithavideocameraattachedtomoreaccuratelyassessthesituation.Afterthe
extentofthecancerhasbeendetermined,therearetwodifferenttypesofsurgerytochoose
from.Potentiallycurativesurgeryisusedwhentheresultsoftheexamsandtestssuggestthatit
ispossibletoremoveallofthecancerinthebody.
Duetothelocationofthecancer,itishardertonoticeinitsearlierstages.Thisusually
meansthatdoctorshavetoconductpalliativesurgery.Thisisrequiredwhenthereissimplytoo
muchcancerinthebodytoremovecompletely.Thepurposeofthissurgeryisnottocurethe
disease,butrathertoeasesymptomsandpreventothercomplications,suchasblockageofthe
bileductortheintestine.Themostcommonwayofopeningthepoopductiswithastent.A
stentisatubethatisplaceddirectlyintothebileducttoforceittostayopen.Theplacementof
astentdoesnotrequireactualsurgery.Doctorsinsertatubedownthepatientsthroatandall
thewaytothepancreas.Whenapatientishealthyenoughthereisanotheroptioncalled

bypasssurgery.Placingastentismuchmorecommon,butthereareadvantagestobypass
surgery.Neitherofthesearecures,butbypasssurgerygiveslongerlastingrelief.Itinvolvesa
formoflaparoscopicsurgery.Thepointofthesurgeryistoreroutetheflowofbilefromthe
commonbileductdirectlyintothesmallintestine,bypassingthepancreas.

CurrentLimitations(23):
Therearemanylimitationstothetreatmentsofpancreaticcancer.Theonlytimesthatit
canactuallybecompletelyremoved,isifitiscaughtearlyenough.Theproblemwiththisisthat
pancreaticcancerhasnovisiblesymptomsinitsearlystages.Afterthecancerhasspread,the
onlysurgeryavailableispalliative.Oncethesurgeryisfinished,thereisstillcancerleftinthe
body.Thisrequiresother,lessreliabletreatments.
Radiationuseshighpowerxraystokillcancercells.Itisusuallyusedaftersurgerytokill
anyremainingcancercells.Beforeradiation,doctorshavetomakeprecisemeasurementson
thebodytoattempttoonlyhittheareaswithcancercellpresent.Sowhatistheproblemwith
this?Commonsideeffectsofradiationincludenauseaandvomiting,fatigue,weightloss,and
blisteringandpeelingofskin.Thoughtheseareunhealthyandwouldbebeneficialtobe
prevented,themainproblemisradiationlowersbloodcount.Aftersurgeryandradiation,which
areverytollingonapersonsbody,lessbloodinthepersoncanleadtoveryseriousproblems.
Thelackofredandwhitebloodcellsmeanthethebodyisweakerandmorepronetoinfection.
Itisaveryseriousissuethatdoctorsareawareof,andasaresult,monitorthepersonshealth
afterradiationisconductedtomakesuretheyarestillingoodhealthafteraperiodoftime.
Otherriskyproceduresusedinthetreatmentofpancreaticcancerareablationand
embolization.Ablationistheprocessofinjectinganeedleintothetumorandusingeitherheat,
radiowaves,orcoldnesstokillcancercells.Sideeffectsofthesetreatmentsincludeabdominal
pain,infections,andinternalbleeding.Thechanceofmoreseriouscomplicationsarepossible
aswell.Embolizationistheinjectionofsubstancesintoarteriestostopbloodflowtothetumors.
Sideeffectsofthisincludenausea,fever,infection,andbloodclotsinotherthanintendedblood
vessels.

ProposedSolution(25):
Ourresearchhasconcludedthatpancreaticcancerhasbeenrelativelylesstreatedout
ofallthecancers.Duetothefactthatithasnosymptoms,itishardtocatchinitsearlystages.
Whencaughtinlaterstages,thetreatmentforpancreaticcanceristoodangeroustotheinternal
organstobeworthdoing.
Weproposecancerhuntingnanobotsasasolutiontopancreaticcancer.Nanobotswill
beabletoflowthroughthebloodstreamandwillbeprogrammedtoseekoutanddestroy
cancer.Oncealltracesofcancerhavebeeneliminated,thenanobotswillfilteroutthroughthe
bloodstreamandthekidneys.
Thenanobotswillbesynthesizedinalaboratory.Theywillbegrowninacellcultureand
willbeabletocausecancerouscellstocommitapoptosis,orcellinflictedsuicide.Another
possiblefunctionthatthesenanobotscoulduseembolizationandablationtokillcells

Citations:

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/pancreaticcancer/
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/pancreaticcancer/
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/pancreaticcancer/detailedguide/pancreaticcancertreating