Yale scientists are working on a treatment for skin cancer that could potentially replace surgery by injecting nanoparticles that attach to tumor cells, killing them via a two-pronged attack. “For a lot of patients, treating skin cancer is much more involved than it would be if there was a way to effectively treat them with a simple procedure like an injection,” said Dr. Michael Girardi, senior author of the study and vice-chair of dermatology at Yale Medical School. “That’s always been a holy grail in dermatology—to find a simpler way to treat skin cancers such as basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.” The treatment is done by injecting polymer-based nanoparticles that convey a chemotherapy agent. The Yale news release explains that the nanoparticles are bioadhesive, which is central to the efficacy of the novel treatment. They would be able to kill a significant number of the cancerogenic cells by attaching to …