Could Lasers Replace Chemotherapy Someday? Meet the Black Scientist Working to Transform Cancer Treatment
Published: August 2nd, 2026
By: Just Listen to Us (JL2US)
A Story of Innovation, Purpose, and Hope
Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and despite decades of scientific progress, many patients including black women continue to face difficult treatment decisions. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy have saved countless lives, but they can also damage healthy cells, leading to significant short- and long-term side effects that affect our quality of life.
For Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green, a Black medical physicist and cancer researcher, those realities became deeply personal after watching family members battle cancer and endure the physical toll of traditional treatments. Inspired by their experiences, she dedicated her career to answering a bold question: Could cancer be treated without causing so much harm to the rest of the body? That question led Dr. Green to develop an innovative technology known as Laser-Activated NanoTherapy (LANT)—a promising investigational treatment that is drawing attention throughout the scientific community for its potential to transform how certain cancers are treated.
How Does Laser-Activated NanoTherapy Work?
Unlike chemotherapy, which circulates throughout the body and may affect both healthy and cancerous cells, Laser-Activated NanoTherapy is designed to target tumors more precisely.
The treatment combines two key technologies:
Nanoparticles, which are microscopic particles engineered to accumulate within cancerous tissue.
Near-infrared laser light, which activates those nanoparticles after they reach the tumor.
Once activated, the nanoparticles generate heat that destroys nearby cancer cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The goal is to provide a highly targeted treatment that reduces many of the side effects commonly associated with conventional cancer therapies.
Researchers believe this targeted approach could one day complement—or, in certain situations, reduce the need for—more aggressive treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation. However, much more research is needed before these possibilities can be confirmed.
What Has the Research Shown So Far?
Early research has produced encouraging results. In laboratory and animal studies, Dr. Green's Laser-Activated NanoTherapy achieved complete tumor regression in laboratory mice following a single 10-minute treatment, with no observable side effects reported in those preclinical experiments. These findings have generated excitement because they suggest the technology may selectively destroy tumors while preserving healthy tissue.
Researchers believe the technology could eventually have applications for several types of solid tumors, including:
Breast cancer
Prostate cancer
Colorectal cancer
Skin cancer
Head and neck cancers
Other difficult-to-treat solid tumors
Although these results are promising, it is important to understand that success in laboratory animals does not guarantee success in humans. At the time of publication, Laser-Activated NanoTherapy remains an investigational treatment. Human clinical trials are still needed to determine whether the therapy is safe and effective in people before it can receive FDA approval for routine clinical use.
Why This Matters for Black Women
Cancer continues to disproportionately impact Black communities. Black women experience significant disparities across the cancer continuum. Although breast cancer incidence among Black and White women is now similar overall, Black women remain significantly more likely to die from the disease. Scientific breakthroughs that aim to improve cancer treatment while reducing harmful side effects are particularly meaningful for our demographic, that continues to experience disproportionate cancer treatment outcomes and burdens.
Dr. Green's work also carries another powerful message: representation in science matters.
Black women remain underrepresented in physics, biomedical engineering, and many areas of medical research. Seeing a Black woman leading groundbreaking cancer research helps inspire future generations of scientists, physicians, engineers, and innovators who may one day develop the next life-changing medical breakthrough.
From the Laboratory to Human Clinical Trials
Dr. Green's research has received support from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and she founded the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation to help advance Laser-Activated NanoTherapy from the laboratory into human clinical trials. According to the foundation, the technology has also received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation, a program designed to help accelerate the development and review of promising medical technologies that address unmet medical needs. It is important to note that this designation does not mean the treatment has been approved by the FDA. Additional research and clinical trials are still required before the therapy can become part of standard cancer care
.
Why JL2US Is Following This Story
At Just Listen to Us (JL2US), we believe innovation and representation are both essential to advancing health equity. Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green's research represents more than an exciting scientific development—it reflects the importance of investing in diverse voices, supporting groundbreaking research, and ensuring that communities disproportionately affected by cancer have a seat at the table as new treatments are developed. While Laser-Activated NanoTherapy is still an investigational technology, it offers a glimpse into what the future of cancer treatment could look like: more personalized, more precise, and potentially less harmful to patients. For Black women, this story is also one of possibility. It reminds us that Black scientists are not only contributing to medical discovery—they are helping shape the future of medicine itself.
JL2US will continue following the progress of this research and other emerging medical innovations that have the potential to improve health outcomes, reduce disparities, and empower black women with trusted, evidence-based information.
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