Marian Jandel Receives Funding for Research on Novel Cancer Treatment
Image by Brooke Coupal
07/08/2022
By Brooke Coupal
One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, according to the .
With this staggering statistic in mind, Physics Asst. Prof. Marian Jandel is researching an alternative cancer treatment that could destroy tumors in high-risk areas of the body, such as the brain.聽
His work is being funded by a five-year, $437,984 from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The highly competitive grant is awarded to university scholars who, according to the , 鈥渉ave the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education, and to lead advances in the mission of their department.鈥�
鈥淕etting a CAREER award is one of the highest honors for a junior faculty member in the sciences,鈥� says Kennedy College of Sciences Dean Noureddine Melikechi. 鈥淎nd that speaks volumes about the potential that Dr. Jandel has.鈥�
Jandel鈥檚 research will focus on neutron capture therapy, which works by injecting an initially non-radioactive compound containing a chemical element into the tumor tissue and then beaming neutrons into the area of the tumor. The neutrons react with the chemical element, producing radiation that can destroy cancer cells.
Scientists have previously studied how neutrons and the chemical element boron generate this reaction, but Jandel will be experimenting with the chemical element gadolinium.
鈥淎fter gadolinium captures the neutrons, it emits X-rays, gamma rays and electrons. The electrons have enough energy that they can penetrate through cells,鈥� says Jandel. 鈥淥ur hope is that the radiation that is created can inactivate the cancer cells.鈥�
Gadolinium has the largest probability among the chemical elements of capturing neutrons, Jandel says.
Image by Brooke Coupal
Gadolinium also has the benefit of being non-radioactive when injected into the tumor, unlike radiation therapy treatments that are currently used. Those treatments involve the injection of radioactive substances, which not only kill cancer cells, but can affect nearby healthy cells. By beaming neutrons into gadolinium, radioactivity can be activated as needed to target the tumors.
鈥淭he goal of this therapy is to treat tumors that are inaccessible and cannot be removed by surgery,鈥� Jandel says. 鈥淲e can actually go in with a neutron beam and focus in on the tumor without damaging other tissues.鈥�
Gadolinium stays radioactive for an instant and de-excites through a cascade of electrons and gamma rays. The high-energy gamma rays go through the body and have the potential to interact with organs and tissue.
鈥淚t鈥檚 called a secondary dose, which you don鈥檛 really want, but in many treatments, it鈥檚 there,鈥� says Jandel. 鈥淎ll treatments have a secondary dose that has to be carefully evaluated.鈥�
Jandel plans on using models of human tissue and replicas of human organs to conduct experiments that will allow him to measure the gamma rays that result from the reaction of gadolinium and neutrons, as well as how those gamma rays interact with other parts of the body. He will also be characterizing the radiation that is emitted and calculating its radiological dose.
His research will also explore the potential use of gadolinium in the form of thin films for neutron radiation detectors. Because of the unique nature of the thin film coupled with gadolinium, detection of neutrons becomes possible in environments where conventional detectors fail. Jandel says this has wide-ranging applications in homeland security and nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
Educating Students about Radioactivity
Physics Prof. Erno Sajo and Adjunct Prof. Wilfred Ngwa helped Jandel with feasibility experiments for this project in collaboration with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Wil Swanson '22 also provided assistance with the preliminary tests while working toward a Ph.D. in medical physics.
Undergraduate and graduate students will continue assisting Jandel inside the 1-mega-watt nuclear reactor on campus.
Image by Brooke Coupal
Jandel鈥檚 goal is to ultimately launch a new course, Advanced Radiological Measurements Laboratory, in the Department of Physics and Applied Physics.
鈥淭his course will be used for outreach to students who don鈥檛 know much about radioactivity,鈥� he says.
Jandel will be conducting additional research alongside Physics Asst. Prof. Peter Bender on neutron capture gamma rays from manganese as part of a $188,000 grant from the .
He hopes to visit high schools to talk to students about his research projects and to help them understand radioactivity through demonstrations.
鈥淚 know that there is a general fear of radioactivity despite us eating bananas, which have radioactivity (due to its potassium), getting dental X-rays and flying in airplanes (which have significantly higher radioactivity backgrounds than on sea level),鈥� Jandel says.
鈥淭he only way to ease people鈥檚 worries is to educate them early. I also want to get more and more young people interested in nuclear and radiological sciences.鈥�
