UT Arlington research uses artificial lymph nodes to attract prostate cancer cells

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

4-Nov-2014

Contact: Herb Booth hbooth@uta.edu 817-272-7075 University of Texas at Arlington @utarlington

A UT Arlington bioengineering professor is using tissue-engineered artificial lymph nodes to attract prostate cancer cells to better target and eradicate the disease.

Liping Tang, bioengineering professor and interim chair of the Bioengineering Department, has received a $533,650 U.S. Army grant to build the lymph nodes that attract the cancer cells.

"The tissue-engineered lymph nodes can be made to resemble what the cancer will look like after it spreads to other sites," Tang said. "When prostate cancer metastasizes, that's when it becomes dangerous and deadly. This research tries to stop the cancer before it spreads. We attract the cancer with these decoys. Then, when it's trapped, we can use a more targeted radiation."

Tang said his team has built the artificial lymph nodes out of biodegradable polymers.

"Through the attraction of these prostate cancer cells, we can then identify the way the cancer moves," Tang said. "These artificial lymph nodes will then become an important tool in identifying the critical biological signals that help the cancer migrate throughout the body."

Eventually, Tang believes his research will allow patients to live longer cancer-free.

He said the artificial lymph nodes also could be used on people who are at risk to the disease but have yet to present any symptoms.

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UT Arlington research uses artificial lymph nodes to attract prostate cancer cells