Cancer claimed 584,881 lives in 2013, making it the second leading cause of death in the United States that year, according to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The American Cancer Society’s annual report estimated that in the United States in 2015, there will be 1,658,370 new cancer cases diagnosed and 589,430 cancer deaths.
Researchers at Boston University are working to step in, developing technology to monitor tumors to optimize treatment selection for patients. This research is currently awaiting disbursement of a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs that it won last month, said Darren Roblyer, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the College of Engineering.
One of the characteristics of cancer that makes it so difficult to treat is its complexity, driven largely by numbers, said Irving Bigio, professor of biomedical, electrical and computer engineering in ENG and a research mentor on Roblyer’s project.
“Cancer is many different diseases and many different variations of the same disease. It affects every patient individually differently,” Bigio said. “It’s a genetically-driven disease that is able to change itself … They also resist treatment in real time … In a way, it is similar to how certain infectious diseases can develop immunity to antibiotics.”
Roblyer’s lab is addressing a void in cancer treatment — current tools such as biopsy and magnetic resonance imaging are expensive and yield safety concerns, Roblyer said. By using diffuse optical spectroscopy, a sort of 3-D imaging technology, patients can receive personalized, real-time treatment, Roblyer said.
“It [cancer] is such a difficult problem, and optics has a potential to make an impact. What I mean by that is the drug regimens we currently use may not be given in an optimized way, and there’s a need for more feedback on how we give patients therapy,” Roblyer said. “That’s where my research comes in and where optics comes in. To monitor these tumors closer to real time will enable us to personalize the treatment.”
One component of the grant is a wearable probe that patients can wear directly on their skin, Roblyer said. The wearable probe serves as a mechanism for detecting and monitoring tumor activity. One way the wearable probe could be used is during a patient’s chemotherapy infusion, where the patient is given drugs through an intravenous line into the bloodstream.
“The idea is this wearable probe will be continuously monitoring this tumor, taking measurements every few seconds or minutes and monitoring the metabolism and blood supply in that tumor during the infusion itself,” Roblyer said. “And by looking at those optical signatures, we hope to be able to say this particular chemotherapy regimen adapted to the tumor and is effective and we should continue or we may want to think about a different regimen. And as time goes by, if that works well, patients can wear a wearable probe almost continuously through [their] treatment.”
In addition to the wearable probe, Roblyer said his lab is developing a handheld probe that functions like an ultrasound wand that can scan over the skin and look at the tumor. The impetus of the handheld probe is to supplement the information gathered from the wearable probe, Roblyer said.
With the grant, Roblyer said he is also interested in testing new drugs and analyzing how different drugs interact with each other.
“An additional part is testing whether this works with breast cancer patients with metastatic disease,” Roblyer said. “We want to measure metastases that have traveled to the spine or the hip for example. The reason why is patients with metastatic disease are the ones who end up dying from breast cancer.”
Roblyer’s lab is comprised of a team of four Ph.D. students, one master’s student and four undergraduate students, though he said he expects his lab to grow over the next few months. Students in his lab have a mix of academic backgrounds, ranging from biology to electrical engineering. Finding a solution to cancer takes an interdisciplinary approach, Bigio said.
“A biologist will understand the cellular biology of cancer but may not have the expertise to develop new instrumentation whereas an engineer or physical scientist will have the knowledge to develop instrumentation but may not know the cellular biology,” Bigio said.
Wen Jing, a sophomore in the College of Communication, said devoting attention to cancer research is valuable.
“It is worth it to research more on cancer,” he said. “I don’t know about the attention that’s been given to it, but research is a way to show society that you care about finding treatments for the disease.”
Part of that starts with those with the influence to spread awareness, said Jose Godoy, a sophomore in the School of Management.
“Most importantly, we should involve companies to research for a cure,” he said. “They should give more attention to treatment. They need to be motivated to help find a cure.”
For their part, Roblyer said he and his team only hope to revolutionize clinical care.
“Our technology could inform a physician’s decision about when and how to treat breast cancer patients,” Roblyer said. “The hope is this will extend the survival of patients and we can chip away at this gigantic problem called cancer. If not cure it, change it from an acute condition to a chronic condition, so people can live with cancer but control the disease.”
