WASHINGTON — Researchers at Virginia Tech have come up with a new way to look at a particularly dangerous type of brain cancer, and their work could lead to treatment breakthroughs.
Researchers have developed a new imaging technique and tried it on glioblastoma stem cells. They say this innovative technology allowed them to watch the cancer cells respond to treatment in real time.
Two assistant professors at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute led the project, with a strong assist from a fourth-year medical student at the university.
Faculty members Zhi Sheng and Deborah Kelly and their team came up with a way to use nanotechnology to watch cancer cells. But it was medical student Elliot Pohlmann who urged them to try it on glioblastoma, a type of cancer that is very hard to target and treat.
The result was an unusual — but very productive — collaboration. Sheng says the technique produced strong images — the likes of which he has never seen before. Pohlmann calls them “visually striking.”
This type of real time imaging may one day prove to be an important tool for scientists tackling not just cancer, but diseases ranging from AIDS to influenza.
The Virginia Tech researchers say by directly observing errant cells, and watching how treatments work on a cellular level, new technology can provide insights that ultimately saves lives.
Their findings were published in the journal NANO Letters.
