cancer research archive

Embryonic pathway delivers stem cell traits - Studies at the MIT-affiliated Whitehead Institute of how cancer cells spread have led to a surprising discovery about the creation of cells with adult stem-cell characteristics, offering potential implications for regenerative medicine and cancer treatment. May 15, 2008

MIT finding may help prevent stomach cancer - Prompt treatment of a microbe that causes stomach ulcers and other ailments can reverse damage to the lining of the stomach and ultimately prevent one of the most lethal forms of cancer from developing there, MIT researchers have concluded. May 1, 2008

Team develops safe, effective RNAi technique - A team of researchers from MIT and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has developed safe and effective methods to perform RNA interference, a therapy that holds great promise for treating a variety of diseases including cancer and hepatitis. April 27, 2008

Jacks named president-elect of AACR - Tyler E. Jacks, director of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, has been named president-elect of the American Association for Cancer Research. April 14, 2008

Awards & Honors - Recent achievements by members of the MIT community. March 19, 2008

MIT researchers devise new cell-sorting system - Capitalizing on a cell's ability to roll along a surface, MIT researchers have developed a simple, inexpensive system to sort different kinds of cells--a process that could result in low-cost tests for diseases such as cancer, even in remote locations. March 12, 2008

Cancer researchers brief media - Dozens of journalists from national and international publications attended a special media briefing on March 6, in which several MIT faculty members discussed research they will pursue at the new Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. March 10, 2008

MIT breaks ground for Koch institute - MIT broke ground on Friday for the new David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, a state-of-the-art facility that its director, Tyler Jacks, said will usher in "the next generation in cancer research." March 8, 2008

MIT research reveals protective role of microRNA - Snippets of genetic material that have been linked to cancer also play a critical role in normal embryonic development in mice, according to MIT cancer biologists. Their work shows that a family of microRNAs protect mouse cells during development. March 7, 2008

Weinberg named first recipient of Swedish science prize - Professor Robert A. Weinberg of MIT's Department of Biology this week became the first recipient of a new Swedish science prize, in recognition of his cancer research. January 31, 2008

Short bacterial protein is surprisingly versatile - MIT researchers have discovered that the reason an unusually short bacterial protein has many more interactions than would normally be expected of something its size is probably due to its lack of formal structure. January 17, 2008

Genes key to high liver cancer rates in men - A fundamental difference in the way men and women respond to chronic liver disease at the genetic level helps explain why men are more prone to liver cancer, according to MIT researchers, who conducted the first genome-wide study on the subject. January 15, 2008

Cancer study affirms interdisciplinary approach - A UCLA cancer study reported this month validates earlier work by MIT engineers, and is emblematic of an explosion in research at the intersections of engineering, the life sciences and medicine, according to MIT Dean of Engineering Subra Suresh. December 3, 2007

MIT radar technology fights breast cancer - Treating breast cancer with a type of heat therapy derived from MIT radar research can significantly increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy, according to results from the fourth clinical trial of the technique reported online Nov. 25. November 28, 2007

Nanoparticles deliver drugs directly into tumors - MIT scientists have devised remotely controlled nanoparticles that, when pulsed with an electromagnetic field, release drugs to attack tumors. The innovation could lead to the improved diagnosis and targeted treatment of cancer. November 20, 2007

Study charts genomic landscape of lung cancer - An international team of scientists has produced the most comprehensive view yet of the abnormal genetic landscape of lung cancer. The research reveals more than 50 genomic regions that are frequently gained or lost in human lung tumors. November 7, 2007

MIT pair honored for biopsy advance - Two MIT graduate students reached the finals of last week's Collegiate Inventors Competition, organized by the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, for their work on a device that makes needle biopsies less invasive. November 6, 2007

Cancer cells enlist stem cells to promote metastasis - MIT and Whitehead institute scientists have managed to facilitate metastasis, finding evidence that some breast cancer cells recruit normal adult stem cells and force them to secrete a protein that fosters cancer cell movement and invasion. October 31, 2007

An interview with Tyler Jacks - Tyler Jacks, who will direct the new David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, is currently the director of MIT's Center for Cancer Research. In an interview, he discusses the new center and the cancer research that will take place there. October 17, 2007

Grant pits nanotechnology against prostate cancer - A $5 million grant from alumnus David H. Koch will help researchers from several institutions, including MIT, develop nanotechnology to treat metastatic prostate cancer, for which there is no effective treatment. October 17, 2007

Koch gives $100 million to MIT for cancer research - With a $100 million gift from David H. Koch, MIT plans to build a new cancer research center that will bring together scientists and engineers under one roof to develop new and powerful ways to detect, diagnose, treat and manage cancer. October 9, 2007

Amon, Golub win cancer prize -  MIT Professor Angelika Amon and Todd R. Golub of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard will share the 2007 Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research, an award of $150,000, with Gregory J. Hannon from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. October 3, 2007

Team proves role of microRNAs in spread of cancer - MIT scientists have proved that microRNAs, tiny molecules that fine-tune protein production and play a powerful role in biological processes, can prompt otherwise sedentary cancer cells to move and invade other tissues. September 27, 2007

Team demos safety of RNA therapy - Researchers from MIT, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and other institutions have demonstrated the safety of a promising type of genetic therapy that could lead to treatments for a wide range of diseases such as cancer and viral diseases. September 26, 2007

Polymers hold promise for safer gene delivery - In work that could lead to safe and effective techniques for gene therapy, MIT scientists have found a way to fine-tune the ability of biodegradable polymers to deliver genes, which could be a safer technique than using viruses to carry genes. September 7, 2007

Team finds way to create cancer stem cells - MIT scientists and colleagues have found a way to create in the lab large amounts of cancer stem cells, or cells that can initiate tumors. The work, reported in the August 13 issue of Cancer Cell, could be a boon to researchers who study these elusive cells. August 13, 2007

MicroRNA 'sponges' could aid cancer studies - MIT researchers have developed a new way to study the function of microRNA, the tiny strands of genetic material that help regulate a cell's genes. The work could shed light on microRNA's hypothesized role in tumor development. August 12, 2007

Protein suppresses spread of prostate cancer - A protein whose function is lost in a broad array of cancers normally suppresses the spread of prostate cancer, MIT researchers and colleagues have shown. Testing for loss of the protein could help clinicians tell which cancers are more likely to metastasize. July 20, 2007

Model aids understanding of protein networks - An international team of researchers, including several from MIT, have developed a model that could help researchers understand the complex protein networks that influence human disease, including cancer. The model helps identify protein/enzyme relationships. June 25, 2007

Horvitz urges support for basic science - MIT Nobel prize-winning Professor Robert Horvitz outlined his work with "Worms, Life and Death: Cell Suicide in Development and Disease" and his concerns for the future of basic research in the annual Killian Award lecture delivered April 24. April 26, 2007

Device draws cells close--but not too close--together - On a microscopic level, coaxing cells to be very, very close without actually touching one another has been among the most frustrating challenges for cell biologists. MIT researchers have solved the problem with a novel device. April 4, 2007

MIT IDs role of key protein in tumor growth - MIT researchers have identified how a missing protein causes tissue to become precancerous--a finding that could help doctors identify patients at high risk to develop tumors. March 15, 2007

MicroRNA found to regulate gene involved in cancer - A microRNA directly regulates a gene implicated in human cancers, researchers from the Whitehead Institute and MIT reported in the Feb. 22 online issue of Science. March 2, 2007

Defense mechanism of tumors discovered - MIT researchers have identified a critical defense mechanism that tumor cells employ to survive the toxic effects of chemotherapy--knowledge that could very soon lead to more effective cancer treatments. February 12, 2007

Team develops nanoparticles to battle cancer - On a quest to modernize cancer treatment and diagnosis, an MIT professor and her colleagues have created new nanoparticles that mimic blood platelets. Their goal? To send these to carry out different medical missions inside the body. February 1, 2007

New book documents MIT breast cancer therapy - A breast cancer treatment based on MIT research originally intended for detecting missiles is documented in a new book by Alan J. Fenn, an MIT researcher and inventor of the technique. January 26, 2007

Reactivated gene shrinks tumors, MIT study finds - Many cancers arise due to defects in genes that normally suppress tumor growth. Now, for the first time, MIT researchers have shown that re-activating one of those genes in mice can cause tumors to shrink or disappear. January 24, 2007

Hynes named scientific governor of U.K. charity - Professor Richard O. Hynes has been named scientific governor of the United Kingdom's largest charity, the Wellcome Trust, effective Jan. 1. January 12, 2007

Sengupta wins $4M breast cancer award - Shiladitya Sengupta, assistant professor of medicine at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology and Brigham and Women's Hospital, has won one of three 2006 Era of Hope Scholar Awards from the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. December 21, 2006

MIT implant measures tumor growth, treatment - A tiny implant containing specially designed nanoparticles now being developed at MIT could one day help doctors rapidly monitor the growth of tumors and the progress of chemotherapy in cancer patients. December 4, 2006

MIT receives $6 million for cancer study - Research into the "microenvironment" of tumor cells is the focus of a $6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to MIT's Center for Cancer Research. December 1, 2006

Periwinkle can serve as tiny chemical plant - Some of nature's most complicated chemistry takes place in the shoots and leaves of the periwinkle plant. MIT researchers studying the flowering plant have now figured out how to manipulate those complicated biosynthetic pathways to produce novel compounds. November 15, 2006

MIT receives major grant from the Ludwig Fund - A $20 million grant to MIT from the Ludwig Fund, a major philanthropic foundation primarily focused on cancer research, will enable MIT researchers to launch a major attack on the fundamental problem of cancer metastasis. November 14, 2006

MIT technique reveals inner lives of red blood cells - For the first time, researchers at MIT can see every vibration of a cell membrane, using a technique that could one day allow scientists to create three-dimensional images of the inner workings of living cells. October 16, 2006

Tool charts links between drugs and human disease - A research team led by scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has developed a new kind of genetic "roadmap" that can connect human diseases with potential drugs to treat them, as well as predict how new drugs work in human cells. September 29, 2006

$100 million grant funds research center - The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard will join forces with four prominent New York research centers to battle cancer thanks to a $100 million award from the Starr Foundation announced today. September 21, 2006

MIT announces campus development program - MIT President Susan Hockfield has announced a major campus development program that will invest approximately three-quarters of a billion dollars in new and renovated facilities on the Institute's 154-acre Cambridge campus. September 13, 2006

Proton treatment could replace x-ray use - Scientists at MIT, collaborating with an industrial team, are creating a proton-shooting system that could revolutionize radiation therapy for cancer. The goal is to get the system installed at major hospitals to supplement, or even replace, the conventional radiation therapy now based on x-rays. August 28, 2006

DNA damage study probes inflammation, disease - New research at MIT may help scientists better understand the chemical associations between chronic inflammation and diseases such as cancer and atherosclerosis. The work could lead to drugs that break the link between the two. July 25, 2006

New device offers assist in needle biopsies - Two MIT graduate students have helped design a machine that may make needle biopsies less invasive and less prone to complications for lung cancer patients. July 19, 2006

Whitehead brings new dimension to cancer research - New research at MIT may lead the pharmaceutical industry to take a whole new approach to battling the spread of cancer. A new MIT study indicates that a common approach for evaluating anti-cancer therapeutics misses some crucial phenomena. July 12, 2006

Cancer symposium packs Kresge - An audience of 1,300 packed into Kresge Auditorium on June 23 to listen to Nobel laureates and other prominent scientists discuss cancer research. June 29, 2006

Cancer Center highlights past, present research - MIT School of Science Dean Robert Silbey called the Institute's Center for Cancer Research the "jewel in the crown of MIT" at a recent short course on cancer for alumni and faculty that included highlights of the Center's research. June 26, 2006

MIT sheds light on how tumor cells form - MIT cancer researchers have discovered a process that may explain how some tumor cells form, a discovery that could one day lead to new therapies that prevent defective cells from growing and spreading. June 20, 2006

Public database aids drug researchers - Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have released a major upgrade of ChemBank, a publicly available database created to help drug hunters discover new and effective medicines. May 30, 2006

MIT nanoparticles may help detect tumors - MIT engineers have devised a new technique that allows nanoparticles to group together inside cancerous tumors, creating masses with enough of a magnetic signal to be detectable by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. May 1, 2006

Cancer research funding called key - Funding young researchers remains an important focus for the National Cancer Institute, even though the federal group's budget has remained flat the past few years, the acting head of the NCI told MIT students and faculty on Friday, April 21. April 25, 2006

Nanoparticles armed to combat cancer - Ultra-small particles loaded with medicine -- and aimed with the precision of a rifle -- are offering a promising new way to strike at cancer, according to researchers working at MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital. April 10, 2006

New tools enable large-scale gene studies - A molecular library created by a research team led by scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard promises to accelerate scientists' understanding of the genetics behind cancer and many biological processes. April 7, 2006

MIT technology used to shrink tumor - Technology developed by MIT researchers is being used to shoot a laser through a spaghetti-thin, flexible fiber to attack tumors and other diseased tissue in highly targeted, minimally invasive surgery. April 5, 2006

Jacks earns top cancer award - Tyler Jacks, director of MIT's Center for Cancer Research, has been named the 2005 Simon M. Shubitz Lecturer and Award recipient. April 4, 2006

Studies link cancer, inflammatory disease - The biological processes underlying diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer are fundamentally linked, and should be linked in how they are treated with drugs, a series of MIT studies indicates. March 29, 2006

Robert Weinberg wins major cancer prize - Professor Robert A. Weinberg has won one of the largest prizes awarded to cancer researchers by a professional society of peers, according to the American Association for Cancer Research. March 8, 2006

MIT method reveals how radiation damages the body - Researchers at MIT have devised a new method for examining how radiation damages normal tissue in the body. The knowledge may make it possible to reduce side effects for cancer patients or to develop treatments for radiation exposure. February 28, 2006

Blood researchers find mechanism behind disease - Researchers at MIT and their colleagues have discovered an unusual mechanism underlying myeloproliferative disease, a condition characterized by overproduction of different types of blood cells. December 19, 2005

Jacks to share cancer research prize - MIT Professor Tyler E. Jacks will share the 2005 Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research awarded by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. November 16, 2005

MIT cancer program granted $3.2 million - An MIT program designed to identify early signs of cancer using nanotechnologies has been named one of 12 national Cancer Nanotechnology Platform Partnerships through the National Cancer Institute. October 21, 2005

MIT chosen for national role fighting cancer - The National Cancer Institute announced Monday it has chosen MIT and Harvard University to share one of seven national, multi-institutional hubs it is establishing to rapidly advance the application of nanotechnologies to cancer research. October 4, 2005

Team discovers why melanoma is so malignant - A team led by researchers at MIT and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research has discovered one of the reasons why this particular skin tumor is so ruthless. Unlike other cancers, melanoma is born with its metastatic engines fully revved. September 23, 2005

MIT engineers an anti-cancer smart bomb - Imagine a cancer drug that can burrow into a tumor, seal the exits and detonate a lethal dose of anti-cancer toxins, all while leaving healthy cells unscathed. MIT researchers have designed a nanoparticle to do just that. July 27, 2005

Langer talk highlights cancer symposium - Though his drug delivery systems are now widely lauded, MIT Institute Professor Robert Langer faced an uphill battle getting funding, he told a crowd gathered for the June 24 symposium, "The New Science of Cancer Therapy." June 30, 2005

Cells discovered at MIT may play role in lung cancer - Researchers at the MIT Center for Cancer Research have discovered the first stem cells of the lung, cells that could be responsible for one type of lung cancer. June 29, 2005

Study holds promise for quick cancer diagnosis - Despite significant progress in understanding the genetic changes in many different cancers, the diagnosis and classification of tumor type remains, at best, an imperfect art. This could change quickly, thanks to the findings of MIT and other researchers. June 8, 2005

Cancer hijacks body's wound-healing process - Scientists have known for the last decade that a link exists between wound healing and cancer. Now scientists led by MIT Professor Robert Weinberg, a member of the Whitehead Institute, have discovered the process by which tumors hijack normal wound-healing processes for their own purposes. May 20, 2005

Target for cancer drugs identified - Researchers at the Whitehead Institute and MIT have discovered a missing piece to the puzzle of how certain cancers work. March 14, 2005

Endometriosis, ovarian cancer modeled in mouse - A new study from the MIT Center for Cancer Research provides the first mouse models of endometriosis and endometrioid ovarian cancer, two major gynecologic diseases that are frequently associated with each other in women. January 7, 2005

MIT team aims to reduce chemo doses - MIT biologists report a potential way to decrease the dose of chemotherapeutic agents needed to tackle cancer, a feat that would reduce these agents' toxic side effects. January 6, 2005

Model of cancer syndrome could lead to treatments - Scientists from MIT's Center for Cancer Research have developed a new mouse model that closely resembles Li-Fraumeni Syndrome in humans, a syndrome that predisposes those affected to a broad range of cancers. December 16, 2004

NCI awards MIT, Broad Institute - The National Cancer Institute recently awarded grants to nine institutions, including MIT and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, to establish integrative cancer biology research programs. October 27, 2004

New risks for bladder cancer identified by MIT team - MIT researchers and colleagues have identified three new chemical risk factors for bladder cancer in a study involving some 600 people in the Los Angeles area. October 7, 2004

Essigmann receives royal honor - Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand recently presented MIT Professor John M. Essigmann with an award recognizing his "sustained support for the advancement of science in developing countries and his selfless dedication to teaching and research." September 13, 2004

Mice cloned from malignant cancer cells - By cloning mice from a melanoma cell, a research team has demonstrated that nature can reset the clock in certain types of cancer and reverse many of the elements responsible for causing malignancy. August 1, 2004

Work offers insight into metastasis - A team of researchers has discovered that tumors spread by reactivating and commandeering a "sleeper" protein that should have been shut off permanently in early embryo development. June 24, 2004

Langer award cites cancer work - Robert Langer, the Germeshausen Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, has been awarded the $250,000 Charles F. Kettering Prize. June 2, 2004

Radar research to fight cancer - A breast cancer treatment based on MIT radar research that was originally intended to detect space-borne missiles is showing promise in the final phase of clinical testing. April 28, 2004

Radar research aims at cancer - A breast cancer treatment based on MIT radar research that was originally intended to detect space-borne missiles is showing promise in the final phase of clinical testing. April 15, 2004

New breast cancer model - A team led by Professor of Biology Robert Weinberg at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research has successfully grafted human breast tissue into the mammary glands of mice. April 7, 2004

New breast cancer model - A team led by Professor of Biology Robert Weinberg at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research has successfully grafted human breast tissue into the mammary glands of mice. March 26, 2004

Broad's Golub wins $500,000 cancer grant - A scientist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has received a $500,000 grant to apply advances in human genomics towards cancer research. February 25, 2004

Scientist wins cancer award - Broad Institute scientist has received a $500,000 grant to apply advances in human genomics to the development of better diagnostic and therapeutic tools for cancer. February 20, 2004

Weinberg wins prize - Professor of Biology Robert A. Weinberg shares the 2004 Wolf Prize in Medicine for his groundbreaking discoveries in molecular oncology. January 28, 2004

Low-tar cigarettes do not cut cancer risk - The risk of lung cancer is no different in people who smoke medium-tar, low-tar or very low-tar cigarettes, concludes a study by an MIT-led research team published Jan. 10 in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). January 14, 2004

Lung cancer risk not cut - The risk of lung cancer is no different in people who smoke medium-tar, low-tar or very low-tar cigarettes, concludes a study by an MIT-led research team. January 8, 2004

Cancer gene found - MIT researchers report a new reason why mutations in the BRCA gene affect a tumor-suppressor protein that plays an important role in repairing damaged DNA. October 29, 2003

Mechanism behind cancer gene - MIT researchers report a new reason why mutations in the BRCA gene affect a tumor-suppressor protein that plays an important role in repairing damaged DNA. October 23, 2003

Devices could help diagnose cancer - An MIT laboratory has received $7.2 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to further its work on devices that can detect and image precancerous cells. September 17, 2003

Devices to help diagnose - An MIT interdepartmental laboratory has received $7.2 million from NIH to further its work on devices that can detect and image precancerous cells noninvasively. September 17, 2003

Cancer therapy in trials - Researchers have begun advanced clinical trials of a cancer treatment that could selectively target malignant tissue while reducing the likelihood of injury to healthy tissue. May 21, 2003

Process triggered by some cancer drugs causes tumors - A process used by some drugs to kill cancer cells in some body tissues may actually cause tumors when used in other tissue. May 14, 2003

Researchers find elusive adult stem cells - An MIT researcher reported in the Dec. 1 issue of Cancer Research that he has created cells that divide the way adult stem cells do. December 4, 2002

MIT research helps find elusive adult stem cells - An MIT researcher reports in the Dec. 1 issue of Cancer Research that he has created cells that divide the way adult stem cells. December 2, 2002

Cancer treatment approved - A breast cancer treatment based on MIT Lincoln Lab radar research has advanced to randomized clinical trials, the final phase of clinical testing. October 9, 2002

Breast cancer treatment approved for final clinical trials - A breast cancer treatment based on MIT Lincoln Lab radar research has advanced to randomized clinical trials, the final phase of clinical testing. October 3, 2002

Cancer treatment promising - A breast cancer treatment based on MIT radar research continues to move through clinical trials, with further promising results reported at the American Society of Breast Surgeons. May 8, 2002

Cell jackets to inhibit cancer growth - MIT scientists wielding molecular scissors have shown for the first time that the sugar jackets of cancer cells can be tailored to inhibit tumors. January 30, 2002

Cancer center in 28th year - Jacks and CCR associate director Jacqueline Lees, an associate professor of biology, take the helm of the center at a crucial point in the battle against cancer. December 19, 2001

Promising cancer results reported - A breast cancer treatment based on MIT radar research is now in Phase II clinical trials, and preliminary results look promising. September 12, 2001

Leukemia drug attacks abdominal cancer cells - Researchers at MIT report that existing leukemia drug might also work for untreatable abdominal cancer. August 15, 2001

Scientists build cancer model - A Center for Cancer Research scientist has genetically engineered cancer-prone mice that carry cells that switch on a cancer-causing gene spontaneously, generating cancers much like humans do. May 9, 2001

Radar research treats cancer - An MIT researcher's work on radar technology to detect missiles will be applied in FDA-approved Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of breast cancer. January 10, 2001