Device in Trials Delivers Chemo Directly to Tumors, Skipping the Bloodstream

There may be a new option for oral cancer patients: a device that delivers chemotherapy directly to the tumor without entering the bloodstream is being investigated at Virginia Tech University.

Oral tumors such as malignant melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma are currently treated with surgery, followed by systemic chemotherapy and/or radiation.

But surgery in the mouth can be tricky. Tumors may be difficult or impossible to remove entirely; and the follow up treatments might not always get the results we hope for. This new trial, testing to see if chemotherapy could be more effective and have fewer side effects, might give us hope for future cases.