MO‐D‐BRA‐01: Nano ‐ Cancer and Radiation Therapy

The field of nanotechnology in cancer includes the use of materials precisely constructed at the molecular level to develop devices and novel imaging and therapy techniques to improve the therapeutic ratio of cancer treatments. Recent advances in the application of nanotechnology to cancer hold a great promise to improve the detection, treatment, and prevention of cancer. In this scientific symposium, we will present a primer on the science of nanotechnology and discuss how it can be used to improve the imaging and treatment of cancer, including radiation therapy. We will describe the latest research and development in this exciting and rapidly advancing field. We will review newly developed cancer diagnostics and therapies, including the combination of imaging combined with drug delivery, based on nanotechnology and identify future directions. The specific objectives of the symposium are to: 1. Provide a primer on nanotechnology in cancer and the science behind it. 2. Describe the potential use of nanotechnology to improve the imaging of cancer and imaging combined with drug delivery. 3. Describe the potential use of nanotechnology to improve the treatment of cancer, including radiation treatment. 4. Describe the potential use of nanotechnology to deliver the treatment directly to the tumor while sparing healthy tissue, including radiation treatment. 5. Describe promising newly developed cancer diagnostics and therapies based on nanotechnology, future directions, and the role medical physicists can play to advance the field. 6. Describe the challenges of translating nanotechnology from the academic bench to the clinic.