A husband-and-wife professor team at Michigan State University (MSU) is teaming up with researchers from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) in a groundbreaking initiative to tackle aggressive breast cancer.
Sophia Lunt, an MSU professor in biochemistry and molecular biology within the College of Natural Science, and Richard Lunt, an MSU professor and Johansen-Crosby Endowed Professor in Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering, have pooled their expertise with Vincent Lavallo, a chemistry professor at UCR, to engineer innovative light-sensitive chemicals.
These novel compounds, known as cyanine-carborane salts, are designed for use in photodynamic therapy (PDT), a treatment that harnesses light to destroy metastatic breast cancer tumors. Early studies in mice have demonstrated the potential of this approach to effectively target cancer cells while minimizing harm to healthy tissue.
“Our innovative cyanine-carborane salts offer a targeted option with reduced side effects for patients with aggressive breast cancer. We expect this research will lead to safer and more effective therapies for patients with limited treatment options,” stated Sophia Lunt.
The process of PDT involves circulating light-sensitive chemicals throughout the body, where they preferentially accumulate within cancer cells.
Subsequently, near-infrared light, invisible to the human eye and capable of penetrating deeper into the body, is applied to activate these salts. This activation triggers a “smart” bomb effect, selectively eradicating cancer cells while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.
Hyllana Medeiros, a postdoctoral researcher at MSU who played a key role in the mouse studies, highlighted a significant advantage of this new approach.
“Current FDA-approved PDT chemicals remain in other parts of the body, such as the skin, for extended periods of time. After traditional PDT treatment, the patient has to stay in the dark for two to three months because even low levels of light will cause their skin to become blistered and burned.”
The newly developed cyanine-carborane salts offer a distinct advantage by being more readily absorbed by cancer cells, leading to a more effective treatment and potentially reducing the prolonged light sensitivity associated with traditional PDT.
Amir Roshanzadeh, an MSU graduate student and the first author of the research paper, emphasized the broader implications of their findings.
“Our work offers an effective treatment for aggressive breast cancers,” he said. “It also opens the door to breakthroughs for treating additional cancers and targeted drug delivery.”
Looking ahead, the research team plans to investigate the effectiveness of these novel salts in treating a wider range of cancer types.
“Truly novel discoveries that enable solutions to problems as complex as cancer require multidisciplinary teams like ours. This research is a perfect demonstration of what can be achieved when you combine several different researchers with vastly different backgrounds spanning cancer biology, chemistry and materials science engineering; good things happen,” remarked Richard Lunt.
This collaborative effort between MSU and UCR represents a significant step forward in the development of more targeted and less invasive therapies for aggressive breast cancer and holds promise for future advancements in cancer treatment.
Joan Guillemette
Read More