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Establishment of Precision Medicine Targeting Cancer Stem Cells Using Synthetic Polymer Gels
Development of a method to initialize cancer stem cells using hydrogel
It is important to eradicate cancer stem cells to cure cancer. This method uses Hokkaido University's original biomaterial (synthetic polymeric hydrogel) to induce reprogramming (initialization) of cancer stem cells rapidly and efficiently, making it possible to predict the properties of cancer stem cells and their response to treatment in case of recurrence.
Research
It is essential to eradicate treatment-resistant cancer stem cells to cure cancer. However, their number is small, and it is difficult to isolate and analyze cancer stem cells using conventional methods. With this study, we used a synthetic polymeric hydrogel (Science 344, 161-162, 2014) originally developed by Hokkaido University to induce reprogramming (initialization) of cancer stem cells rapidly, easily, inexpensively, and efficiently, allowing us to analyze the properties of cancer stem cells, evaluate their response to treatment, and predict the properties of cancer cells at the time of recurrence. This technology is expected to make it possible to screen drugs that target cancer stem cells, predict the nature of recurrent tumors that may occur in the future, and administer prophylactic drugs, thereby providing cancer patients with accurate cancer stem cell-targeted precision medicine (preventive preemptive medicine).
Shinya Tanaka Professor
