Using light to activate cancer drugs.

Platinum-based drugs have been used in chemotherapy for over 30 years. Platinum interferes with the synthesis and transcription of DNA, which limits the ability of cancer cells to grow and reproduce. These drugs, however, also pose a risk to healthy tissue and can have severe side effects. Scientists have determined a way to deliver these drugs in an inactive form and then activate them once they reach the cancer. The process is called photoactivation, the use of light to excite the platinum into its active, chemotherapeutic state. The research used visible light (blue or green), and the treatments were highly active against the cancer cells but produced minimal damage to healthy tissue.