Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigators have invented a quick and relatively inexpensive method for identifying genes that are indispensable for the growth and survival of colon and breast cancer cells.

The approach employs a massively parallel cellular system that simultaneously screens thousands of genes. Researchers can use information from the genetic screen to assess the relative impact of each gene on the growth and survival of tumor cells.

“We're examining as many genes as we can, and eventually every gene in the genome, to figure out which ones are deleterious to tumor cells.”
Stephen J. Elledge

The use of targeted nanoparticles offers promising techniques for cancer treatment. Researchers in the laboratory of Mark E. Davis at the California Institute of Technology have been using small interfering RNA (siRNA), sometimes known as silencing RNA, to "silence" specific genes that are implicated in certain malignancies. One of the primary challenges associated with this type of therapy is delivering the therapeutic agent into the body and then to the tumor in a safe and effective manner. By using targeted nanoparticles, researchers have demonstrated that systemically delivered siRNA can slow the growth of tumors in mice without eliciting the toxicities often associated with cancer therapies. The results of this research are being presented this week at the NSTI Nanotech 2007 Conference in Santa Clara, CA.