Vision

The MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine (CPCM) is devoted to translational research to help the subset of patients who do not respond well to traditional therapies. By focusing on the use of drug combinations, CPCM investigators believe it is possible to significantly alter patient outcomes by determining the right combination of therapies for the right patients. In addition, the Center will concentrate efforts on innovative ways to give drugs, be it in time-staggered dosages, or formulations that target the therapy directly to the tumor.

Research Pillars

The four focus areas of the CPCM are:

• Identifying and targeting the processes, signals, and mechanisms that determine an individual patient's response to chemotherapy
• Targeting 'undruggables' – identifying compounds, materials, and approaches to modulate key genetic and molecular targets with the goal of shutting down signaling pathways, receptors, and gene expression events that help drive cancer drug resistance
• Finding ways to use existing FDA-approved cancer drugs more effectively, particularly in carefully designed combinations
• Harnessing MIT's expertise in big data to open new and expedite existing cancer research efforts

By galvanizing the MIT cancer research community, clinical investigators, and industry, the Center will help to revolutionize cancer diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring. The CPCM will invest in collaborative research efforts; offer a robust training ground for young engineers and scientists and convene scientific symposia and events.