Sanford-Burnham researchers discover molecule that controls tumor vessel maturation -- a counterintuitive approach that could improve cancer drug delivery

ORLANDO, Fla., August 13, 2012 – To survive, tumors need blood supply to provide them with nutrients and oxygen. To get that supply, cancer cells stimulate new blood vessel growth—a process called tumor angiogenesis. Many attempts have been made to inhibit this process as a means to choke off tumors. But tumor…

By combining a nanoparticle that is readily visible in X-ray computed tomography (CT) scans with a molecule that targets tumor lymph vessels and other tumor tissues, a research team from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute has developed a new imaging agent that provides high-fidelity CT images of tumors and their edges. This work, led by Michael Sailor of UCSD and Erkki…

The trouble with most anti-cancer therapies is that they are lethal to most cells in the body, not just cancer cells. As a result, patients experience side effects like nausea, increased susceptibility to infection, and increased risk of developing secondary cancers later in life. Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) are developing techniques to deliver cancer drugs directly to tumors, increasing their effectiveness and decreasing collateral damage. In…

ORLANDO, Fla., October 24, 2011-Cancer patients may benefit from the research findings borne out of the first medical research collaborations between the University of Central Florida (UCF) and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute at Lake Nona (Sanford-Burnham).

Two independent teams of cancer researchers, chemists, and bio-informatics engineers have published discoveries that…

Kim Edwards

Men who took 400 international units (I.U.) of vitamin E daily had more prostate cancers compared to men who took a placebo, according to an updated review of data from the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention (SELECT) Trial. The results of…

LA JOLLA, Calif., October 6, 2011 – In cancer, genes turn on and off at the wrong times, proteins aren’t folded properly, and cellular growth and proliferation get out of control. Even a cancer cell’s metabolism goes haywire, as it loses the ability to appropriately sense nutrients and use them to generate energy. One particular piece of cellular machinery that is known to malfunction in a number of cancers is a group of proteins called mTORC1. This master control…

San Diego, CA — The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded biomedical device start-up NanoSort, Inc. a 2 year, $297,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant and a 9-month, $198,000 contract. NanoSort will develop devices to detect circulating tumor cells (CTCs)—an emerging target in cancer diagnostics— using two novel approaches. NanoSort applies lab-on-a-chip technologies to drastically reduce the size and cost of flow cytometers while maintaining high…

Salk Institute scientists collaborate with scientists of the University of Bern and physicians from the University Hospital of Freiburg (D) on the discovery and clinical testing of agents that "detect" more metastatic neuroendocrine tumors than is current

September 12, 2011

LA JOLLA, CA—Oncologists have long sought a powerful "magic bullet" that can find tumors wherever they hide in the body so that they can be imaged and then…

Winners receive up to $100K to commercialize innovations

With the proposed technology, the physician can review, revise, and approve a new treatment plan using a smart phone to interact with the GPU cloud. Photo Credit: Steve Jiang, UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

Five teams of scientists from multiple…

The Findings Open the Door to the Development of Novel Drugs for Early-Stage Tumors

LA JOLLA, CA – August 31, 2011 - Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shown that a particular white blood cell plays a direct role in the development and spread of cancerous tumors. Their work sheds new light on the development of the disease and points toward novel strategies for treating early-stage cancers.

The…

Scouting nanoparticles (blue) find tumor cells, then broadcast their location. Responding nanoparticles (red) swarm to the location carrying payloads of drugs, concentrating treatment where it is needed.

Like swarming insects drawing crowds to a food source, a system of nanoparticles and engineered proteins can…