{"id":131454,"date":"2022-09-26T09:30:24","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T13:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454//?p=131454"},"modified":"2022-09-23T17:09:33","modified_gmt":"2022-09-23T21:09:33","slug":"ucf-researchers-design-treatment-to-protect-bones-during-cancer-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454//ucf-researchers-design-treatment-to-protect-bones-during-cancer-therapy/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454//","title":{"rendered":"UCF Researchers Design Treatment to Protect Bones During Cancer Therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"

UCF material sciences engineers Melanie Coathup and Sudipta Seal have designed a cerium oxide nanoparticle /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454/u2014 an artificial enzyme /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454/u2014 that protects bones against damage from radiation. The nanoparticle has also shown abilities to improve bone regeneration, reduce loss of blood cells and help kill cancer cells./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454/n

Their study, a collaboration with Oakland University, North Carolina A&T University, the University of Sheffield and University of Huddersfield in the U.K., was published in Bioactive Materials./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454/n

Approximately 50% of all cancer patients receive radiation therapy /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454/u2014 a treatment that uses electrically charged particles to kill cancer cells. About 40% of patients are cured with this therapy. However, bone damage is a side effect, impacting about 75% of patients receiving radiation./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454/u201cBecause of its high calcium content, bone absorbs 30-40% more radiation than other tissues and so it is a common site of injury,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454/u201d says Coathup, director UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454/u2019s Biionix faculty cluster. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454/u201cRadiation makes the bone brittle and easily fractured. And due to the damage caused by radiation, many people are then unable to repair their bone fracture. In some people, this leads to having an amputation to resolve the complication./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454/n

While radiotherapy beams are directly aimed at the tumor, surrounding healthy tissue also gets damaged and can cause many additional health issues for patients./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/131454/n