UMaine Researcher Working to Improve Early Cancer Detection
Contact: Michael Mason, 581-2344
ORONO — A recent discovery by a University of Maine engineering professor and his collaborators is expected to make it easier for doctors to find cancerous tumors and start treatment in the early stages of the disease when it can be most effective.
Working with a $78,000 grant from the Maine Cancer Foundation, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering Michael Mason and his collaborator, Dr. Peter Allen at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, are working to improve cancer detection using engineered bioconjugates.
The researchers are developing a new class of cancer-identifying agents to detect cancerous tumors in the pancreas and liver. The agents are based on chemically modified noble metal nanoparticles labeled with bioactive molecules. Bioactive molecules are antibodies against cancer markers found on the surface of cancer cells. These nontoxic particles can seek out and attach to cancer cells that are difficult to distinguish from healthy tissue by imaging studies, such as MRI or CT scans.
Though only a few billionths of a meter across, they generate very strong X-ray contrast, effectively making the cancer cells visible to doctors. The project has the potential to vastly improve early detection of many types of cancer.
In addition to improved images, these particles could replace current iodine-based contrasting agents to which many patients respond negatively, says Mason. Although the technology is still a few years away from being used by medical professionals, researchers have successfully tested the detection process in mice.