Mexico should invest in the investigation of nanoparticles cancer treatment

Thalía Estens Musa
Lucía Maldonado
Carlos Antimo
Javan Segovia
José Antonio Marcos

FINAL PROPOSAL
Mexico should invest in the investigation of nanoparticles cancer treatment
Abstract
Most cells in human tissue have the capacity to reproduce. Some are constantly multiplying and some others only do so in certain circumstances. For example, the cells in the deep layers of the skin arealways reproducing, and they migrate to the most superficial layers. In other tissues, cells are not bound to reproduction except when tissue damage occurs. This means that a cell can regulate its reproduction by mechanisms that involve the body environment, the presence or absence of certain factors and the cellular health. When a cell loses this regulation capacity, it can enter on a not controlledreproduction phase.
We can define cancer as a disordered cell proliferation, occurred when a cell loses its capacity to regulate reproduction by the mechanisms before mentioned. These cells acquire the capacity to invade other tissues, or send “metastasis” to other parts of the body.
Cancer is caused by abnormalities in the genetic material of the cell. These can be caused by carcinogenagents, like radiation (ionizing, ultraviolet), by chemical products (from the industry, tobacco smoking, general pollution) or from infectious agents. These multiple factors interfere with the DNA of the cell, and especially with some genes that codify growth factors that regulate cell reproduction.
This condition eventually kills the host, primarily because a cancer cell requires lots of nutrients tobe in constant reproduction. A cancer cell has lost its regulation for reproduction, so it is either constantly or always reproducing. This condition causes a competition between normal tissues and cancer tissues for the nutrients, in which cancer cells have an advantage, because they are not bound to any regulation.
Chemotherapy is an extended cancer treatment that uses chemical substances ormedicines. Many of the medications actually used against cancer had its origins in natural sources, and developed in the experience and investigation to artificial compounds. The chemotherapy works using the differences that occur between neoplasic cells (cancer cells) and normal cells, interfering in the life and reproduction cycle.
In the present time, the medical professionals have pledgedto make cancer treatment a multidisciplinary practice that integrates newly developed techniques and technological tools. Given the circumstances and the damage chemotherapy causes in a patient, it is necessary to evaluate this technique, and if possible, substitute it with less uncomfortable practices. Newly developed cancer treatments are gaining field in the practice, and it would berecommendable to focus on these to provide a quality medical treatment.
Today, cancer is the second leading death related illness in Mexico; and the problem gets more critical as time passes by. If the tendency keeps on for a decade, Mexico will annually have a growing 15.5 million new patients.
In Mexico’s case cancer treatment has two main problems: in many cases it’s not curable, and when it is, thetreatment is so expensive that the government can’t afford to offer it to the general population. The health budget in Mexico is of only 134 thousand million pesos. This is probably because Mexico´s social, political, and educational problems strangle the health budget.
In developed countries nanoparticles are being investigated for the cure of cancer. Generally, Mexico has very limitedinvestigation and this area is not the exception. There are only two underdeveloped nanoparticles investigations in the country: A student in IPN and another study on skin cancer in UAM. Nanoparticles have been proved to be more efficient when treating cancer than any other known method. The experiments also demonstrate that the procedure is relatively cheap and causes less secondary effects in patients...