Cancer monitor

An implant being developed at the

(MIT) could one day help doctors rapidly monitor the growth of tumours and the progress of chemotherapy in cancer patients.

The implant contains nanoparticles that can be designed to test for different substances, including metabolites such as glucose and oxygen that are associated with tumour growth. It can also track the effects of cancer drugs. Once inside a patient, the implant could reveal how much of a certain cancer drug has reached the tumour, helping doctors determine whether a treatment is working in a particular patient.

‘You really want to have some sort of rapid measure of whether it's working or not, or whether you should go on to the next (drug),’ said Michael Cima, the Sumitomo Electric Industries Professor of Engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the leader of the research team.

Such nanoparticles have been used before, but for the first time, the MIT researchers have encased the nanoparticles in a silicone delivery device, allowing them to remain in patients' bodies for an extended period of time. The device can be implanted directly into a tumour, allowing researchers to get a more direct look at what is happening in the tumour over time.