An Anti-Cancer Breakthrough 

Boston College researchers have developed what may be a minimally invasive method to kill cancer cells. BC Ferris Professor of Physics Michael J. Naughton, Research Professor in Physics Timothy Connolly, and postdoctoral research fellow Adam Vanasse discovered they could trigger the body’s immune response by injecting microscopic nanoparticles of the compound barium titanate into immune cells called macrophages (pictured above). The researchers found that using ultrasound technology to stimulate the nanoparticles activated the macrophages’ disease-fighting response, including the ability to attack cancerous tumors. The team then realized that if the nanoparticles were administered directly to tumors and stimulated by high enough levels of ultrasound, they could kill cancer cells outright. The team members published their early findings in Scientific Reports last fall, and have since received funding from the Mathers Foundation to pursue their method as a cancer-fighting therapy. They’ve also teamed up with Yale researchers, who created a way to track the nanoparticles inside cancer cells using diagnostic imaging. Although it’s too early to say when the treatment might be available to cancer patients, Naughton said it’s possible the team’s discovery could also be used to fight long-term infections or autoimmune diseases. “This could lead to dramatic improvements in nanoparticle-based treatment of disease,” he said. ◽