Researchers from Duke University have achieved a 100 percent cure rate for squamous cell carcinoma in a hamster model by injecting an ethanol-based gel directly into tumors. The work, published in Nature Scientific Reports, was inspired by an existing low-cost therapy called ethanol ablation, and improves the method to work on a wider variety of tumors. (Futurism) If ethanol (the type of alcohol found in your favorite adult beverages) is injected into a tumor, it destroys proteins and causes the cells to dehydrate and die. This is called ethanol ablation and it has been used to treat one type of liver cancer, and its success rate is similar to that of surgery. Better yet, it costs less than $5 per treatment.
This is amazing news. Ethanol is incredibly cheap to make and this new research (on hamsters) proves that an ethanol-based gel (basically hand sanitizer) can achieve a 100% cure rate when injected directly into squamous cell tumors. This low-cost, easily administered cancer treatment could significantly improve outcomes in the developing world and, we hope, here.