美科学家加强对癌症诊断和治疗的研究

宾夕法尼亚州大学(Penn; Philadelphia, PA, USA)最近被选为美国国立癌症研究院人类癌症小鼠模型联盟(MMHCC; Frederick, MD, USA)的成员之一。

做为联盟成员之一，宾州大学科学家团队的战略是开发确定乳腺肿瘤进展与转移过程的理论与技术途径和手段。为了达到这个目标，他们最大程度地使用最新分子与细胞成像技术来评估一系列新型基因工程小鼠乳腺癌模型。“这种尝试需要具有广泛知识和专业的科学家群体，这次地资助将帮助我们招募组织这些科学家。”Lewis A. Chodosh医生说，他是宾州大学Dr. Chodosh中心Abramson癌症中心癌症生物学系地副主任。

宾州大学MMHCC小组将专门使用各种高新技术包括核磁共振扫描、正电子发射断层扫描、单光子发射计算机断层扫描、核磁共振光谱以及超声波将活体动物体内的肿瘤细胞进行可视化并进行追踪，从肿瘤发生、发展到远距离转移一直到复发。

这种技术将被用于评估肿瘤对治疗地反应以及预测临床转归。这项研究计划中使用的小鼠模型是十分独特的，因为研究人员能够跟踪每一个动物的完整病史，从最初发病到对治疗的反应、肿瘤的静止期以及最终的转移与复发。

肿瘤发展的晚期，表现为对治疗药物的抵抗、转移以及肿瘤复发，导致了大多数的癌症死亡。但是无论肿瘤如何进展，都会产生令人无法相信的具有临床意义的难题，潜在的过程仍然不是十分清楚。为了更多地了解癌症机制的生理和分子机制，是癌症研究的重要前提。
 
Research Initiative to Improve Cancer Diagnosis, Therapy
 
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn; Philadelphia, PA, USA) has recently been chosen to become a member of the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Mouse Models of Human Cancers Consortium (MMHCC; Frederick, MD, USA).

As a member of the Consortium, the Penn team of scientists’ strategy is to develop conceptual and technical approaches for determining the processes of breast tumor progression and metastasis. To achieve this goal, they will utilize a wide range of state-of-the-art molecular and cellular imaging methods to assess a series of novel, genetically engineered mouse models of breast cancer. “This type of endeavor requires a group of scientists with a tremendous breadth of knowledge and expertise, which this grant has allowed us to assemble,” stated Lewis A. Chodosh, M.D., Ph.D., vice chair, department of cancer biology, at the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn. Dr. Chodosh.

The Penn MMHCC team will specifically use a wide-ranging array of advanced technologies including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and ultrasound to visualize and track tumor cells in living animals from their origins to their gradual progression to distant metastasis and recurrence.

The technology will also be utilized to evaluate tumor response to therapy and to predict clinical outcomes. The mouse models to be used in this project are distinctive in that the investigators can follow the complete natural history in each animal--from the initial onset to response to therapy, tumor dormancy, and ultimately, metastasis and recurrence.

Advanced stages of tumor progression, typified by resistance to therapeutic drugs, metastasis, and tumor recurrence, are responsible for most of cancer deaths. Whereas tumor progression, however, comprises a problem of incredible clinical significance, the underlying processes are basically unknown. Understanding more about the physiologic and molecular events that add to this mechanism is a crucial priority in cancer research.