on health Progress Against Melanoma (NAPSA)—There’s someelectrifying newsin thefight against melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. Researchers are testing a therapy that uses electricity to open pores in cancer cells to prompt the immune system to fight melanoma tumors. A therapy is being tested that uses electricity to prompt the immunesystem to fight tumors. Cancer researchers have long sought ways to deliver genes to tumors, sometimes employing viruses. Viral-delivery methods have drawbacks, including the potential to spread and the possibility of integrating into normalgenes. This latest therapyis called electroporation. Adil Daud, M.D., of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, and Richard Heller, Ph.D., of the University of South Florida, teamed up to develop the technique for use in melanomapatients. The two men came up with a simple device that is held against the skin at the site of the tumor. Thejolt of electricity helps a gene invade the tumor—a gene that commands the immune system to rev up. Experiments on mice have indicated an 80 percent reversal of the disease. To learn more about melanoma call Cancer Answers at 1-800-4567121 or visit www.moffitt.usf.edu.
