Killing cancer cells with alpha particles could be the next frontier in treatment [Video]

This story is part of CBC Health’s Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.

Canadian cancer researchers are part of global efforts to test targeted alpha therapy, a new form of treatment that some oncologists believe will become the next frontier in attacking cancer at the cellular level.

Targeted alpha therapy shreds the DNA of cancer cells by using radioactive alpha particles, which researchers say are more powerful at killing cancerous tumours than comparable existing treatments and less damaging to healthy tissue.

While no targeted alpha therapy has been approved for use outside a clinical trial, several are in the final stages of testing and could be ready for consideration by Health Canada and international regulators within the next few years.

Researchers see its potential in treating pancreatic, prostate and …