Cancer treatment developed by patient

August 29, 2007

An Erie, Pa., leukemia patient, fed up with chemotherapy, developed technology that may one day be used to fight cancer.

John Kanzius, who isn't a doctor and never graduated college, developed technology that uses metal nanoparticles activated by radio waves to burn out targeted cells without damaging surrounding tissue, CBS News reported Tuesday.

"I envision this treatment taking no more than a couple of minutes or so," he said.

Kanzius said the most difficult part developing the device is finding a way to target the cancerous cells with the nanoparticles.

Dr. Steven Curley, a surgical oncologist and cancer researcher at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said the potential benefits of the device are exciting.

"This has the most fascinating potential I've seen in anything in my 20 years of cancer research," Curley told CBS News.

Experts said human tests of the method are at least two years off.

Until then, Kanzius will continue chemotherapy.

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