Materials science vs. metastasis
Daniel A. Heller, Ph.D.
Department of Chemical Engineering, MIT
Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, MIT
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Thursday afternoon session: Clinical Connections from Bench to Bedside, Beckman Auditorium, 1:15 PM -- 2:00 PM
Abstract: Metastasis, the spread of cancer cells from a primary tumor to seed secondary tumors in distant sites, is one of the greatest challenges in cancer treatment today. For many patients, by the time cancer is detected, metastasis has already occurred. Over 80% of patients diagnosed with lung cancer, for example, present with metastatic disease. Although cancer therapies are improving, many drugs are not reaching the sites of metastases. Methods that are effective for treating large, well-vascularized tumors may be inadequate when dealing with small clusters of disseminated malignant cells. As the biological mechanisms of metastasis are being unraveled, it is becoming clear that new approaches to treat this condition may become available. The expanding capabilities of the materials sciences, especially in targeting, detection and particle trafficking, will enable novel approaches to treat cancers even after metastatic dissemination. Although the first generation of nano/materials-based drugs has reached the clinic, future systems promise significant advances in targeting metastatic sites and earlier detection through more sensitive imaging techniques.
Speaker bio: Daniel Heller is a Damon Runyon Fellow in Robert S. Langer's laboratory at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. He obtained his BA in History from Rice University in 2000 and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Illinois in 2010. His work is focused on nanoscale tools for detecting and treating human diseases. He will enter a faculty position at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Cornell Medical School in New York City in 2012.