Cold Spring Harbor live imaging shows response to cancer drugs can be boosted by altering tumor microenvironment

It should be possible to significantly improve the response of common cancers to existing “classical” chemotherapy drugs, say scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), by introducing agents that alter the interaction of cancer cells with their immediate surroundings, called the tumor microenvironment. In research published online in the journal Cancer Cell, a team reports using “live” microscopy to observe how cancer cells in mouse tumors react to the widely used chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin. They found that selective inhibition of two factors that regulate the tumor microenvironment -- enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and a class of immune signaling molecules called chemokines -- made breast tumors in mice more responsive to the drug.

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Among the research institutions NCI funds across the United States, it currently designates 66 as Cancer Centers. Largely based in research universities, these facilities are home to many of the NCI-supported scientists who conduct a wide range of intense, laboratory research into cancer’s origins and development. The Cancer Centers Program also focuses on trans-disciplinary research, including population science and clinical research. The centers’ research results are often at the forefront of studies in the cancer field.