Cancer treatment in stealth mode

I find this fascinating. Stealth mode makes me think of spies, CIA, cold war, KGB, NSA, guerrilla warfare, covert operation and all that.

I found an article on Smithsonian.com, The War on Cancer Goes Stealth, which explains in detail what exactly they are doing - tricking cells, sneaking past the sentries, etc. I know it needs more testing and many researchers will be busy with this for a long time but treatments targeting individual cancer cells so patients can avoid chemotherapy and enjoy a good quality of life.

Here is a TED talk explaining it more with links to more talks on it here.


This intrigues me to no end. And convinces me I should have paid more attention in biology and chemistry (physics not so much) so I could understand it better. And it shows hope for a new wave of treatment that are not as harmful to the patient.

My only concerns are - how soon will this happen and how much will it cost?