Tech Transfer: Cancer Treatment

Guest: Marc Hansen, PhD, Professor in the Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology at Brigham Young University; Mike Alder, Director of BYU’s Technology Transfer Office  Can you hazard a guess here – what’s the leading cause of death among Americans? The Centers for Disease Control says Heart Disease, which kills more than 600,000 people a year. Not far behind in the number two spot? Cancer. Accidents are actually the fourth highest cause of death, but the number is much, much smaller – 140,000 per year.  So, let’s look at number two: Cancer. Among the challenges to treating it the many different types that can arise and the aggressive way in which cancer cells grow - and even become resistant - to drug treatment.  More information about technology developed at BYU is available at techtransfer.byu.edu.