Cancer

A research team led by MIT chemistry professor Mohammad Movassaghi has developed a strategy for synthesizing a group of compounds called communesins, which occur naturally in some fungi. Researchers may now be able to further investigate the compounds’ cancer-fighting abilities. Pictured is an image of penicillium fungus.

A new approach to chemical synthesis

Communesins, originally found in fungus, could hold potential as cancer drugs.

June 7, 2016

A Massachusetts General Hospital surgeon demonstrates the Lincoln Laboratory’s near-infrared fluorescence imaging (NIRF) system.

Glowing tumors light a path to cancer treatment

Mechanism developed at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital shows promising results for improved ovarian cancer detection and removal.

May 20, 2016

MIT $100K grand-prize-winning team Astraeus Technologies (left to right): Graham Lieberman, Jay Kumar, Alexander Blair, and Joseph Azzarelli.

Lung cancer “breathalyzer” wins $100K Entrepreneurship Competition

Team’s smartphone-connected device can detect lung cancer early from a single breath.

May 12, 2016

(Left to right) Matteo Ligorio, Laura Indolfi, and Elazer Edelman.

Implantable device targets pancreatic cancer

Chemotherapy delivered directly to tumors may slow the disease.

April 14, 2016

Winning team IllumiRNA (shown here) pitched an idea for a diagnostic platform that profiles individual cells in blood tests.

Method for earlier detection of leukemia wins $300,000 grant

Team takes home grand prize from Koch Institute’s unique research-grant pitch competition.

April 11, 2016

Clockwise from top, left: Itay Tirosh, Benjamin Izar, Aviv Regev, Alex Shalek, Orit Rozenblatt Rosen, and Levi Garraway

Taking on melanoma, one cell at a time

In step toward personalized medicine, researchers are using single-cell analysis to unravel cancer’s secrets.

April 7, 2016

Science art on display at the public galleries of MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research

Scientific art lights up Main Street

Art and science converge in the public galleries at MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.

March 23, 2016

(Left to right) Miles Miller, Frank Gertler, Douglas Lauffenburger, and Madeleine Oudin in the Gertler Lab at MIT.

Why some tumors withstand treatment

Researchers uncover a mechanism that allows cancer cells to evade targeted therapies.

March 16, 2016

This image depicts the process of metastasis in a mouse tumor, where tumor cells (green) have helped to reorganize the collagen into aligned fibers (blue) that provide the structural support for motility. This helps the tumor cells to enter blood vessels (red), ultimately leading to the formation of metastases in other organs.

Paving the way for metastasis

Cancer cells remodel their environment to make it easier to reach nearby blood vessels.

March 15, 2016

Artist interpretation of a cancer cell dividing

How cancer cells fuel their growth

Scientists surprised to find amino acids, not sugar, supply most building blocks for tumor cells.

March 7, 2016

“Not only does the high-fat diet change the biology of stem cells, it also changes the biology of non-stem-cell populations, which collectively leads to an increase in tumor formation,” Omer Yilmaz says.

How diet influences colon cancer

Study ties high-fat diet to changes in intestinal stem cells, may help explain increased cancer risk.

March 2, 2016

MIT senior takes on double major in brain and cognitive sciences plus theater arts

Abra Shen pursues medicine and theater, and someday hopes to combine the two.

February 19, 2016

Krishna Rajagopal, chair of the faculty and professor of physics, presents Tyler Jacks with the Killian Award.

Targeting cancer from many angles

Killian Award recipient Tyler Jacks fosters interdisciplinary, innovative cancer research.

February 12, 2016

To track the family history for a single cell, researchers engineered a microfluidic device that traps first an individual cell and then all of its descendants. The device has several connected channels, each of which has a trapping pocket used to capture single cells in precise locations. After the initial cell grows and divides, its progeny float downstream and are captured in the next available...

Tracing a cellular family tree

New technique allows tracking of gene expression over generations of cells as they specialize.

January 6, 2016

A rounded cancer cell (top left) sends out nanotubes connecting with endothelial cells. Genetic material can be injected via these nanotubes, transforming the endothelial cells and making them more hospitable to additional cancer cells.

Scientists discover how cancer cells escape blood vessels

Study offers new targets for drugs that may prevent cancer from spreading.

December 16, 2015

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