Cancer "Decoy" Device Could Provide Early Warning Of Spreading Disease
An experimental implant, developed by a research team from the University of Michigan (U-M) and Northwestern University, works as a “cancer beacon,” or decoy, attracting cancer cells and trapping them before they spread to other organs in the body. The researchers say the device could one day alert doctors to cancer metastasis, ensure earlier intervention, and help identify the most appropriate treatment.
While advanced technology has done a lot to improve the prognosis for cancers of the breast and prostate, patients still require rigorous monitoring to ensure that leftover cells do not re-emerge and spread to organs such as the liver, brain, or lungs — malignancies that are much harder to combat. Researchers have discovered that metastasis is not random; cancer cells take over the immune system, which then works to attract cancerous cells to their next target.
By implanting a device that is even more attractive than the immune cells’ beacon, scientists at U-M and Northwestern believe they can divert at least some of the cancer cells into a trap. The research team tested its prototype on mice with metastatic breast cancer and published its findings in Nature Communication.
“We set out to create a sort of decoy—a device that’s more attractive to cancer cells than other parts of the patient’s body,” said Lonnie Shea, department chair of biomedical engineering at U-M and co-author of the paper, to Michigan Engineering. “It acts as a canary in the coal mine. And by attracting cancer cells, it steers those cells away from vital organs.”
Hardly the size of a pencil eraser, the spongy device is made of polylactide-co-glycolide (PLG), an FDA-approved material used to make sutures. Researchers shaped the PLG into a scaffold-like structure and incorporated an inflammatory signal, which provides an inviting habitat for traveling cancer cells.
In their study, the researchers noted that the trapped cells didn’t clump up and form tumors as they normally would on organ tissue, and neither the implant nor the trapped cells caused visible damage to surrounding tissue. Furthermore, simple non-invasive imaging techniques could be used to periodically monitor the implant in a clinical setting.
Jacqueline Jeruss, U-M professor of surgical oncology, told Michigan Engineering, “Something like this could be monitored for years and we could use it as an early indicator of recurrence.”
National Institute of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins speculated in a blog post that doctors could use the device to track the effectiveness of prescribed treatments, and a smart phone app could allow patients to scan their own implants. NIH funded the team’s research.
In addition to potential clinical applications, the device would be an invaluable research tool that would help scientists to better understand how and why metastasis occurs, and to develop methods of treating it, Shea said.
“A detailed understanding of why cancer cells are attracted to certain areas in the body,” Shea said, “opens up all sorts of therapeutic and diagnostic possibilities.”