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t m c » p u l s e | n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 11 one after the other, to open the different doors to get into the room that gets into the room that gets into the room. The doors are very smart and very difficult to negotiate," Ferrari explained. "The question is finding a sequence of magic keys that will get you in." For the past 25 years, Ferrari has dedicated his career to identifying those "magic keys." "The reason we got to this point is because we were able to observe 25 years of failures. Failure is feedback. If you can find a way not to get too depressed about all of that feedback, then you can learn," Ferrari said. "We learned that no chemotherapeutic agent—the traditional medicines— can cure metastases. No biologically targeted therapeutic agent—the newer generation of monoclonal antibodies— can cure metastases. We know that [drug-loaded] nanoparticles don't cure metastases." Knowing that simply loading drugs into nanoparticles and delivering them to the site of the tumor is ineffective due to the biological barriers, the scientists were forced to rethink their approach. Then came the breakthrough: Trick the cancer into making the nanoparti- cles inside the tumor. Ferrari and Shen created disc- shaped silicon microparticles that were loaded with strands of molecules, called polymers, which were infused with doxorubicin, a commonly used chemo- therapy drug to treat cancer. Once injected, the silicon particles converged at the site of the tumor and slowly dissolved, releasing the doxoru- bicin polymers into the watery environ- ment that surrounds tumor cells. The doxorubicin polymers then bundled together like a ball of yarn and were absorbed by the tumor cells. Ferrari and his team likened the drug to the mythological tale of the Trojan horse. Instead of attacking the walls of Troy, Greek soldiers con- structed a large wooden horse that smuggled them into the city for a strategic strike in the heart of Trojan territory. The silicon nanoparticles functioned like Trojan horses. By mim- icking endosomes, which are organelles that regulate the traffic of protein and lipids into cells, the nanoparticles were able to pass through the cell membrane and deliver the highly potent payload of doxorubicin directly to the nucleus, effectively destroying the tumor cell. The result? Half of the TNBC mice with lung and liver metastases were cured. The other half saw tumor shrinkage. "The day [Shen] walked into the office and said, 'Look what this is doing to the mice. These mice are refusing to die,' that's transformational. From that day on, life became a mission," Ferrari said. "From the moment you realize you have in your hands something that can transform cancer care, curing people who otherwise could not be cured, then it's no longer a job. … All of a sudden, it becomes a mission. It's ministry." Cycle of a cure Ferrari and Shen published their find- ings in the March 2016 issue of Nature Biotechnology. But bringing viable treatments from bench to bedside is a painstakingly arduous process that typ- ically takes close to 17 years and costs billions of dollars. "If I find a new treatment, to be very blunt, it doesn't benefit the patient at all. By the time the cancer is diagnosed, the patient's not going to be there anymore," Chang said. (continued) Darling . CalAtlantic . Chesmar . David Weekley . Gracepoint Highland . Meritage . MI Homes . Newmark . Perry . Shea Taylor Morrison . Toll Brothers . Trendmaker . Westin Community New homes from the $250s Sienna Pkwy at Hwy. 6 siennaplantation.com/homes Downtown Greenway Galleria Med Center F o r t B e n d P k w y It ' s everywhere you look in Sienna Plantation. See for yourself. A strong community with neighbors you can count on. Where children grow and learn. Where quality time and real life blend in a beautiful setting. Visit Sienna Plantation's Sawmill Lake, with new schools, new amenities and new homes from the $250s.