A New Approach to Targeting Tumors and Tracking Their Spread

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The spread of malignant cells from an original tumor to other parts of the body, known as metastasis, is the main cause of cancer deaths worldwide.

The spread of malignant cells from an original tumor to other parts of the body, known as metastasis, is the main cause of cancer deaths worldwide.

Early detection of tumors and metastases could significantly improve cancer survival rates. However, predicting exactly when cancer cells will break away from the original tumor, and where in the body they will form new lesions, is extremely challenging.

There is therefore an urgent need to develop new methods to image, diagnose, and treat tumors, particularly early lesions and metastases.

In a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT describe a new approach to targeting tumors and metastases.

Read more at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Image: Researchers at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT have developed a new approach to targeting tumors and metastases.  CREDIT: MIT