How about treating skin cancer with a simple moisturizer?

According to io9, researchers at Northwestern University in the United States can make treating some skin cancers as simple as applying a layer of moisturizer all over the body.

Scientists have developed a new way of administering gene-action drugs, using a nanostructure that can penetrate our bodies through the skin, targeting specific genes that cause some diseases - including melanoma and psoriasis.

The researchers were able to combine this nanostructure with commercial moisturizers, noting that the substance actually has high levels of penetration into the skin of both laboratory and human mice. In addition, the drug was 100% absorbed by cancer cells and showed no sign of toxicity.

If the new treatment really works and is developed, it means we can treat a wide variety of cancers with the simple application of our favorite cream.

Sources: io9 and PNAS