Cancer Program

The Cancer Program brings together a scientific community focused on understanding in vivo cancer biology at the systems level and applying this knowledge to early cancer detection and therapy assessment. Program members work within CSB, the MGH Cancer Center and/or other MGH laboratories. Strong collaborations exist also with the MIT Center for Cancer Research, the Harvard Cancer Center and the Broad Institute.

Funding
  • Tumor Microenvironment PO1
  • PDAC PO1
  • Molecular Imaging Center P50
  • Cancer Nanotechnology U54
  • SAIRP U24
  • GI Spore

Research Projects

Early cancer detection and innovative diagnostics

Detection of stage I cancers is associated with >90% 5-year survival rate, and treatment is often curative. This program defines molecular and cellular alterations that signal the presence of (pre)cancers and develops novel diagnostic platforms such as endoscopic fiber-optic microscopy for noninvasive in vivo screens.

Drug efficacy

Todays molecularly targeted therapeutics often dictate objective efficacy read-outs as these therapeutics are often costly, only work well in subgroups of patients and so those associated toxicity in non-target populations can be minimized. This program develops and tests novel read-outs of emerging therapeutics. Another aspect of this program is the development of nanotechnology–based diagnostic and therapeutic (‘theranostic’) agents.

Pathway analysis

The key role played by kinases in the vast majority of cancer suggests that specific inhibitors whose disposition could be ascertained in vivo would be useful in biological research and, potentially, for imaging kinase acitivity in a clinical setting. The program uses novel tools to identify kinase and other molecular signatures in cancer cells, and to interrogate the effects of anti-kinases and other drugs on these pathways.

Recent Publications

  • Kako B, Strand ET, White MM, Carroll C, Seaman K, McCullough S, O'Shea A, Kaiser JA, Stanford L, Esfahani SA, Mahmood U, Heidari P, Ng TSC

    Design and implementation of a patient management system for coordination of theranostics care at a major referral center. Clin Imaging. 2025;129:110673 - PMID: 41265114 - DOI: 10.1016/j.clinimag.2025.110673

  • Baruch EN, Gleber-Netto FO, Nagarajan P, Rao X, Akhter S, Eichwald T, Xie T, Balood M, Adewale A, Naara S, Sathishkumar HN, Islam S, McCarthy W, Mattson BJ, Ferrarotto R, Wong MK, Davies MA, Jindal S, Basu S, Roversi K, Nikpoor AR, Ahmadi M, Ahmadi A, Harwood C, Leigh I, Gong D, Tallón de Lara P, Tao DL, Davidson TM, Ajami NJ, Futreal A, Rai K, Kochat V, Castillo M, Gunaratne P, Goepfert RP, Hernandez SD, Khushalani NI, Wang J, Watowich SS, Calin GA, Migden MR, Yuan M, Liu N, Ye Y, Hwang WL, Vermeer PD, D'Silva NJ, Bunimovich YL, Yaniv D, Burks JK, Gomez J, Dougherty PM, Tsai KY, Allison JP, Sharma P, Wargo JA, Myers JN, Talbot S, Gross ND, Amit M

    Cancer-induced nerve injury promotes resistance to anti-PD-1 therapy. Nature. 2025;646(8084):462-473 - PMID: 40836096 - PMCID: PMC12406299 - DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09370-8

  • Rami A, Zhong C, Muniz M, Xie W, Khorasanchi A, Gallagher J, Mohammadi S, Fein D, Voter AF, Stoltenberg H, Gopalakrishan D, Yang Y, Ng TSC, Gafita A, Childs DS, Jacene H, Ravi P

    Race and Outcomes to [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 in Advanced Prostate Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2025;17(12):ePub - PMID: 40563610 - PMCID: PMC12191161 - DOI: 10.3390/cancers17121960

  • Ssedyabane F, Niyonzima N, Ngonzi J, Najjuma JN, Namuli A, Okeny C, Nuwashaba D, Birungi A, Kajabwangu R, Randall TC, Castro CM, Lee H, Tusubira D

    Diagnostic Accuracy of Serum P16ink4A and FOX-P3 Concentrations for Detection of Cervical Lesions Among Women Attending a Cervical Cancer Clinic in Western Uganda: A Case-Control Study. Anal Cell Pathol (Amst). 2025;2025:1931921 - PMID: 40365511 - PMCID: PMC12074841 - DOI: 10.1155/ancp/1931921

  • Konstantinopoulos PA, Cai M, Lee EK, Krasner C, Campos SM, Liu JF, Horowitz NS, Shea M, Parsons HA, Wright AA, Bouberhan S, Penson RT, Yeku O, Hayes M, Sawyer H, Polak M, Castro CM, Cheng SC, Weipert CM, Matulonis UA

    Serial Circulating Tumor DNA Sequencing to Monitor Response and Define Acquired Resistance to Letrozole/Abemaciclib in Endometrial Cancer. JCO Precis Oncol. 2025;9:e2400882 - PMID: 40209137 - DOI: 10.1200/PO-24-00882

  • More publications ...

News

2025-06-25:

"The Neuroscience of Cancer" - Hwang Lab is featured in Harvard Medicine Magazine.

2021-12-02:

Following a national search, The Mass General Cancer Center is extremely pleased to announce that Cesar M. Castro, MD, MSc is appointed as the new Program Director for Gynecologic Oncology. Cesar is internationally recognized for combining cutting edge translational cancer nanotechnology research with compassionate, patient-centered clinical care. Please join us in congratulating Cesar on this new leadership position and wishing him well with this new and exciting opportunity.

2019-07-15:

Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Innovation in Early Cancer Detection (CIECD) selected Cesar M. Castro to receive funding to support research on new technologies and innovations in early cancer detection and diagnosis. Congratulations, Cesar!

2018-08-27:

"AI-powered cancer diagnoses for resource limited settings" - CSB work is featured on the Nature Bioengineering blog.

2017-09-18:

The work of Lee Lab on detecting and profiling circulating ovarian cancer cells is highlighted on the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) site.

More news ...