Treatment Planning Model for Nanotube-Mediated Laser Cancer Therapy

The goal of the project is to develop an effective treatment planning computational tool for nanotube-mediated laser therapy that maximizes tumor destruction and minimizes tumor recurrence. Laser therapies can provide a minimally invasive treatment alternative to surgical resection of tumors. However, the effectiveness of these therapies is limited due to nonspecific heating of target tissue and diffusion limited thermal deposition which often leads to healthy tissue injury and extended treatment durations. These therapies can be further compromised due to induction of molecular chaperones called heat shock protein (HSP) in tumor regions where non-lethal temperature elevation occurs causing enhanced tumor cell viability and imparting resistance to chemotherapy and radiation treatments which are generally employed in conjunction with hyperthermia.