Explore more about: Cancer

NIBIB-supported researchers have developed a smart nanoprobe designed to infiltrate prostate tumors and send back a signal using an optical imaging technique known as Raman spectroscopy. The new probe, evaluated in mice, has the potential to determine tumor aggressiveness and could also enable sequential monitoring of tumors during therapy to quickly determine if a treatment strategy is working.

In recognition of International Women’s Day (March 8), we’re featuring Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Ph.D., a longtime bioengineer in academia who has contributed globally to improving women's health.

What if bacteria—which love to grow deep inside tumors—could guide cancer therapies directly to their target? NIH-funded researchers have engineered a bacterial strain to “light up” tumors so that reprogrammed T cells, drawn like a moth to a flame, can find and destroy them. Their preclinical treatment could potentially be effective against any solid tumor type.

The lungs are one of the most difficult organs for physicians to navigate. A collaborative team of NIH-funded researchers have built a compact robotic system that can autonomously steer around anatomical obstacles within the lungs of live animals.

A collaborative team of NIH-funded researchers is developing a way to obtain DNA shed from brain tumors using focused ultrasound. Their first-in-human study could be an important step towards improving the way brain tumors are diagnosed.

An automated tool captures circulating tumor cells in children with central nervous system cancers. The tool could make it easier to identify tumors that don't respond to treatment.

Dendritic cells are key orchestrators of the immune response, but most vaccination strategies don’t effectively target them. NIBIB-funded researchers have developed biodegradable nanoparticles that are designed to deliver mRNA cargo to dendritic cells in the spleen. Combined with another type of immunotherapy, their vaccine had robust antitumor effects in multiple mouse models.

Traditional medical imaging works great for people with light skin but has trouble getting clear pictures from patients with darker skin. A Johns Hopkins University–led team found a way to deliver clear pictures of anyone's internal anatomy, no matter their skin tone.  Source: Johns Hopkins University

Nanozymes—artificial enzymes that can carry out pre-determined chemical reactions—could selectively activate a cancer drug within a tumor while minimizing damage to healthy tissue in a mouse model of triple negative breast cancer.

For most of our tissues and cells, a lack of oxygen, or hypoxia, is bad news. However, cancer cells can thrive in these conditions, rendering tumors less susceptible to anti-cancer treatments including radiation. Now, new research may offer a way to break through cancer’s hypoxia-induced defenses.