Hasini Jayatilaka: How cancer cells communicate -- and how we can slow them down
哈西妮.賈雅提拉卡: 癌細胞如何溝通和如何減緩其速度
Hasini Jayatilaka discovered a novel mechanism that causes cancer cells to break away from tumors and metastasize. Full bio
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that takes an enormous emotional toll.
but the patient's loved ones, as well.
對病人的至親亦是如此。
has been fighting for centuries.
will develop cancer in their lifetime.
就會有 2 人得到癌症。
to the disease due to metastases.
會死於癌細胞轉移。
from a primary site to a distal site,
or the lymphatic system.
with breast cancer
because she has a mass on her breast.
because it spreads
lymph nodes, brain, bone,
or untreatable.
或無法進行治療的。
for several years now.
and I discovered recently
to communicate with each other
in the tumor microenvironment.
腫瘤微環境當中的密集程度。
through two signaling molecules
the signal is enhanced,
to move away faster from the primary site
using a drug cocktail that we developed,
藥物雞尾酒療法來阻絕這個訊號,
between cancer cells
this all began for me in 2010,
in Dr Danny Wirtz's lab
naive, Sri Lankan girl,
年輕天真的斯里蘭卡女孩,
to look at how cancer cells move
培養皿中
are exposed to in our bodies.
on 2D, flat, plastic dishes
are exposed to in our bodies.
aren't stuck onto plastic dishes.
並非像在塑膠皿中是固定著的。
that I attended a seminar
from Princeton University,
邦尼.巴斯勒博士,
communicate with each other,
來進行彼此的交流。
and perform a specific action.
went off in my head, and I thought,
in my cancer cells every day,
are able to communicate with each other
in the tumor microenvironment.
腫瘤微環境中的密集程度。
this hypothesis.
with my crazy ideas.
students, graduate students,
and multiple disciplines
as a sophomore in college.
experiments together
and perspectives,
communicate with each other and move,
as the Hasini effect.
把它稱為是「哈西妮效應」。
to block this signaling pathway
這條訊號傳遞路徑,
the spread of cancer.
animal models.
的確是如此。
consisting of tocilizumab,
其中包含安挺樂
rheumatoid arthritis,
in clinical trials against breast cancer.
療效目前尚在臨床試驗階段。
was that this cocktail of drugs
這種藥物雞尾酒療法
FDA-approved therapeutics
尚未核准任何
of tumor growth.
the tumor from growing,
that this is not true.
事實並非如此。
came up with the drug cocktail
這種藥物雞尾酒療法,
not by targeting tumor growth,
把目標放在阻止腫瘤成長上,
mechanisms that govern it,
控制轉移的複雜機制上,
of the Hasini effect.
in "Nature Communications,"
《自然通訊》期刊中刊出,
response from around the world.
來自全世界的回應。
this sort of response.
預期到這樣的反應。
for the positive response that I received,
我所收到的正面回饋,
affected by this terrible disease.
疾病所影響到的人。
I've encountered with the Hasini effect,
所獲得的成就時,
that I was fortunate enough to work with.
through their hard work and dedication.
展現了他們超凡的能力。
and the postdoctoral fellows,
who taught me new techniques
他們教會我新的技巧
and my Obi-Wan Kenobis,
making this work into what it is today.
才讓這項研究有了現今的成果。
on our ambitious endeavors.
we could have asked for.
study metastasis.
癌細胞的轉移。
I wouldn't be here.
我今天就不會站在這裡。
to develop combination therapies
所發展出的合併療法,
tumor growth and metastases.
new anticancer therapeutics,
drug resistance.
groundbreaking systems
of better human clinical trials.
talking to you today --
at the back of a seminar
I am on this incredible journey
這不可思議的旅途上,
that I am extremely passionate about,
想要去做的研究,
my curiosity on a daily basis.
my favorite part of all of this --
talking to you, today --
和各位分享外——
with a diverse group of people,
better and just so much more fun.
更好且更有趣。
superhuman power.
is that it's not unique to me.
它並非是我獨有的。
and spread their wrath.
散播它們的怒行。
that has produced incredible discoveries
且已經在醫學和科學領域中
that we can all turn to
something bigger than ourselves,
the world a better place.
that I turn to, to help me fight cancer.
協助我對抗癌症。
that with the right collaborations,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Hasini Jayatilaka - Cancer fighterHasini Jayatilaka discovered a novel mechanism that causes cancer cells to break away from tumors and metastasize.
Why you should listen
Hasini Jayatilaka is postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University focused on elucidating mechanisms that govern relapse in childhood cancers, particularly B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) and neuroblastoma.
BCP-ALL is a common childhood malignancy that has seen dramatic improvements in survival using current treatment regimens. However, relapse is the most frequent cause of cancer-related death among children with BCP-ALL. Jayatilaka is studying the activation of pro-survival and drug resistance mechanisms in a subset of the BCP-ALL population that allow tumor cells to persist following treatment and cause relapse.
Jayatilaka is currently conducting research on understanding the complex pathways that govern metastasis, the spread of cancer, which is responsible for 90% of cancer related deaths. She recently discovered a new signaling pathway that controls metastasis and showed that by blocking the pathway, the spread of cancer can be slowed down.
Jayatilaka grew up in Sri Lanka and pursued her BS and PhD in Chemical and Bimolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Hasini Jayatilaka | Speaker | TED.com