Cancer

By understanding the biological mechanisms underlying cancer, we aim to improve cancer diagnosis, interception, and treatment.

LSP researchers apply the latest tissue profiling, spatial proteomics, and systems pharmacology approaches to human cells and tissues to gain a systems-level understanding of cancer biology. Partnering with clinicians and industry collaborators, LSP researchers develop breakthrough technologies and insights to advance disease diagnosis, predict effective treatment strategies, and combat therapeutic resistance.

LSP cancer research spans many different cancer types, including skin, breast, ovarian, brain, colorectal, and rare cancers.

LSP investigators approach cancer research from multiple angles. Major efforts include leveraging tissue profiling methods to understand the complex interactions of tumor and immune cells in cancer. This knowledge can help identify the earliest signals of precancer or uncover novel biomarkers that may predict disease development or response to targeted molecular or immunotherapies. Other efforts use high-throughput screening approaches to understand how cancer cells respond to treatment at a molecular level and design more effective treatment strategies that can prevent or overcome resistance.

The LSP is dedicated to sharing methods and data to improve the efficiency of cancer research. A major effort led by Peter Sorger and Sandro Santagata established the Harvard Tissue Atlas (tissue-atlas.org/) as a resource for sharing high-resolution tissue profiling methods, images, and -omic datasets with the broader cancer community.