This TED Talk features cancer researcher Elizabeth Wayne, recorded live at TED 2017.

After decades of research and billions of dollars spent in clinical trials,

we still have a problem with cancer drug delivery.

We still get patients chemotherapy, which is so nonspecific

that even though it kills the cancer cells,

it kind of kills the rest of your body, too.

And yes, we have developed more selective drugs,

but it's still a challenge to get them into the tumor,

and they end up accumulating in the other organs as well

or passing through

your urine, which is a total waste.

And feels like mine have emerged where we try to encapsulate these drugs to protect them

as they travel through the body.

But these modifications cause problems that we make more modifications to fix.

So what I'm really trying to say is we need a better drug delivery system.

And I propose, rather than using solely human design, why not use natures?

Immune cells are these versatile vehicles that travel throughout our body,

patrolling for signs of disease,

and arriving at a wound mere minutes after injury.

So I ask you guys,

if immune cells are already traveling to places of injury or disease in our bodies,

why not add an extra passenger?

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