The aim of this three year fellowship is to develop a novel technique for breast cancer diagnosis and therapy, through the use of ‘nano-bombs’, molecular targeted liposomes containing nanoparticles, with light and sound for non-invasive breast cancer diagnosis and therapy. As breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among women, this new treatment modality has the potential to transform the treatment of this disease.
Surgical intervention is the conventional form of treatment for breast cancer, which would typically then be followed by either chemo- or radiotherapy, both of which have undesirable side effects. High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is an established technique for the non-invasive thermal ablation of soft-tissue tumours, in for example, liver, kidney, prostate and breast cancers. HIFU treatments can be given on an out-patient basis, minimising the need for a hospital stay and complications from surgery. Nevertheless, it suffers from having long treatment times and difficulty in identifying ablated regions. Encapsulating light-absorbing nanoparticles within bio-compatable and molecular-targeted liposomes will allow for the identification and treatment of cancerous tissue, while minimising toxicity from the metallic nanoparticles to the patient. The molecular-targeting of the nano-bombs means that they can be used for both diagnosis and therapy. Cancer cells can be acoustically identified by the broadband emissions generated from the collapse of vapour bubbles around the nanoparticles exposed to light and sound.Once cancerous regions have been identified the nano-bombs can be used to enhance the thermal ablation from HIFU therapy. It is only due to the unique combination of liposomes, nanoparticles, light and sound, which makes this potential non-invasive breast cancer treatment possible.
This fellowship, if successful, would give me the means to further develop this novel breast cancer therapy from the laboratory bench into a system that could enter clinical trials for eventual widespread use for cancer patients.
Staff
Dr James McLaughlan