Take It to the Hole: Battling Drug-Resistant Cancer

One group of scientists is developing basketball-shaped nanoparticles that would deliver a punch to cancer cells by interfering with their gene expression. The nanotech-inspired therapies are still at least five years away from use in humans, but according to doctors and scientists, stopping drug resistance, instead of creating new drugs, is an important step that will help save lives.

"Most cancers that can't be removed surgically are already drug-resistant or become drug-resistant," said Michael Gottesman, a doctor at the National Institutes of Health. "But a lot of the literature is focused on finding new anticancer drugs, not worrying about resistance to those drugs."