Cancer Nano-Wars
I attended the annual dinner last evening of the local Princeton Alumni association, affectionately known as the PAAWP. I enjoyed renewing acquaintances and the special feeling of connectedness that exists among a group of interesting people who share a common experience.
After being roasted by token representatives from Yale and Harvard and dispensing cheerily with meeting formalities, Professor Winston "Wole" Sobeyejo presented a fascinating summary of research at Princeton into the use of nanoparticles in the detection and treatment of breast and prostate cancer.
The main idea underlying their research, Prof. Soboyejo explained, "is the inoculation into the body of particles that can be taken up by cancer cells. Once in contact with cancer cells, these particles can be detected via MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), and the signal will indicate the presence of cancer cells, allowing treatment to begin earlier."
You may read more about his work in this edition of Princeton's
Innovation magazine. The promise of using nanoparticles to detect and treat other cancers is also evidenced by the results of this Google search.
