Using Ultrasound to ‘See’ if Cancer Treatments Are Working

Three Thornhill students have successfully used ultrasound to detect cancer cells, opening the door to a new, inexpensive cancer diagnosis tool.

“We wanted to find an alternative way of detecting effectiveness of cancer treatments that would be non-invasive,” said 17-year old Ellie.

Their hope was to find a non-invasive way to monitor the effectiveness of cancer cell-killing drugs. After culturing some leukemia cells they treated them with known cancer cell-killing drugs said Hans. Using a high-frequency ultrasound they imaged the cells and discovered that the dead cancer cells produced a brighter image than the living cells. This correlation between the percentage of dead cells (after being treated with a cancer-killing drug) and the brightness of the ultrasound image generated, provides initial evidence for a useful tool in cancer treatment they concluded.

In future their technique could be used to provide a new window into the effectiveness of a patient’s cancer treatment by quickly, and without biopsies, revealing if the cancer cells are dying. If not, the patient could alter dosages or change drugs in hopes of a better result, said Alessandro.

“My grandfather recently passed away from terminal stomach cancer but, because he lived in another country, I was not able to be there for the family when he passed away. Researching a field related to cancer gives me closure,” said Ellie.

“We all have had friends or family that have had cancer in the past, and we would have really liked to contribute to research pertaining to oncology,” said Alessandro.

All three students plan science-related studies in university: Alessandro, life sciences; Ellie, psychology; Hans, engineering.

“One of the most important things we learned was the value of patience…quite often it is necessary to repeat a trial or a part of an experiment in order to receive sufficient data,” said Alessandro.