Scientists at the University of Californiai are using nanotechnology and microbiology to build "cargo ships" 50 nanometers wide that flow through the bloodstream. The hull of the ships is made of lipids designed to evade the body's immune system, and the surface is covered with molecules that attach to cells and penetrate them. The cargo consists of a nanoparticle and a quantum dot that  track movement on MRI scanners and the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin targeted to destroy tumours. Plans are underway to "zip-code" the ships so they will seek out specific types of cancer.

Nanotech agents are especially promising because these tiny robotic devices are intelligent enough to seek out cancer cells, they are small enough to enter the cells and destroy them with no side effects, and they are safely removed later by the kidneys. Piotr Grodinski, Director of the US National Cancer Institute, summed up the state-of-the-art recently: "Five years ago there were no treatments for the FDA to consider. Today there are 30 small companies working in the field, a handful are in clinical trials, and we expect 3-4 more this year." TechCast estimates cancer patients will approach normal life spans by about 2023 +/- 8 years, although our experts' confidence in this forecast is somewhat low at 60%. See our forecast for Cancer Cure.