Video of Dr. Satake & Dr. Chan

(Biophotonics; Raman Laser Technology – James Chan, Ph.D)

(Targeted Therapy Research – Dr. Noriko Satake)

The goal of this project is to develop new treatments for childhood cancers (currently our focus is on acute lymphoblastic leukemia and neuroblastoma, the two most common cancers in children).  We have identified a promising new target gene in leukemia and neuroblastoma cells, which operates as an “on-off switch” for a protein that regulates cell growth.  We are developing a new drug to “switch off” the gene to stop cancer cells from growing.  This method is called targeted therapy.  If successful, our targeted therapy will also allow delivery of cancer treatments directly to leukemia or neuroblastoma cells, limiting the harm caused to healthy cells, and reducing the negative side effects of conventional therapy.  Furthermore, by adjusting the method we use to “switch off” the gene and also by finding something unique about each patient’s tumor cells, we can develop custom-made treatments for individual patients.

Noriko Satake M.D.