October is CTTC's Breast Cancer Innovation Month!

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women worldwide. Thanks to persistent research, here at Vanderbilt and around the world, doctors are better able to identify high-risk patients and offer a number of strategies to help with early detection, treatment and even prevention in some cases.

Right now, CTTC has 10 active innovations, several of which are patented or patent-pending, that in the future could have significant impact on the detection, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. While these technologies are not available to consumers yet, it is our goal to move them from the research labs to industry partners for further development so they can do what they are supposed to do – help people.

Currently, Vanderbilt’s list of active breast cancer-related technologies includes:

  • Molecular Profiles for Subtyping Triple Negative Breast Cancer*
  • Gene Signature Predicts Systemic Metastasis and Death in Prostate and Breast Cancer Patients*
  • Method to Treat Breast Cancer by Targeting Cancer Stem Cells, Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis
  • Determination of HER2 Amplification Status and Drug Response in Breast Cancer Using Raman Spectroscopy
  • A Process for Analyzing CT Images to Predict Metastatic Breast Cancer Response to Bevacizumab
  • Long Term Estrogen Deprived (LTED) Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines
  • A Robotic System for Real Time Tumor Manipulation During Image Guided Breast Biopsy*
  • Spectrally Selective Magnetic Resonance Excitation for Improved Breast Imaging*
  • Device for 3D, Real Time and Intraoperative Surgical Margin Evaluation*
  • Device Using Raman Spectroscopy to Evaluate Margins Around Tumors

These technologies are at the forefront of breast cancer research; the men and women who discovered them are leaders in the field. This October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we want to highlight the technologies in our current pipeline, recognize the Vanderbilt scientists and clinicians working to develop these technologies, and spotlight innovations that have been licensed to industry and are positively impacting society. Follow us on Twitter, Find us on Facebook, or check back here to follow along.

*patented or patent-pending