What if treating skin cancer was just a matter of wearing a patch for a few hours? At this year’s Society of Nuclear Medicine’s Annual Meeting one group of researchers presented such a patch. The patch is infused with phosphorus-32, a radioactive isotope used to treat some types of cancer. In a study of 10 patients with basal cell carcinoma located on their faces, the patch was applied for three hours, then for another three hours four and seven days later. When biopsies were taken three months after treatment all ten patients, ranging from 32 to 74 years old, showed no traces of their tumors. When biopsies were performed again at six months, however, the basal cell carcinomas had returned in two of the patients. (via New Patch Makes Certain Skin Cancers Disappear | Singularity Hub)
