James Peter Basilion
Case Western Reserve University, OH·Biomedical Engineering
Surgery is often the first treatment for solid tumors, but surgeons cannot always see every cancer cell. Cancer left behind at the edge of the removed tissue, called a positive margin, often leads to repeat surgery, recurrence and spread.
- Fields
Biomedical Engineering
Medicine & Clinical Research
Pharmacology
- Topics
fluorescence image-guided surgery
theranostics
photothermal therapy
- Grants
- 4 known grants, through Mar 2030
What they work on
- Test whether AKRO-6qc, a probe activated by cysteine proteases, can guide tumor removal and then photothermal therapy to extend survival and prevent recurrence and metastasis in BALB/c mice with 4T1/luc breast tumors.
- Determine how myeloid-derived suppressor cells and tumor-associated macrophages shape the immune response to AKRO-6qc-guided surgery plus photothermal therapy, and test MDSC depletion and checkpoint inhibitors as boosters.
- Use PSMA-1-Pc413, which targets the prostate cancer protein PSMA, for fluorescence-guided surgery followed by photodynamic therapy in syngeneic mice, and measure the immune response it stimulates.
- Test PSMA-1-Pc413-guided prostate surgery and photodynamic therapy in a dog prostate cancer model, using histopathology to assess probe accuracy and damage to surrounding tissue.
- Characterize, perform toxicology on, and run a Phase 1A/B trial of a topically applied quenched protease probe that, with the PDE neo imager, reveals residual cancer in the lumpectomy cavity.
More about the research
The work in these grants develops molecular probes that make cancer glow during surgery. Some of these probes are also theranostic, meaning they both reveal and treat tumors: once activated by light, they kill leftover cancer cells and may train the immune system against the tumor. The projects cover breast and prostate cancer and range from mouse and dog studies to a human clinical trial. They sit within a broader cancer imaging research program.
Why it matters
Better ways to see and destroy leftover tumor during surgery could reduce repeat operations, recurrence and metastasis for patients with breast and prostate cancer. For prostate cancer, sparing nearby nerves could also lower rates of incontinence and impotence. Probes that target enzymes common to most solid tumors could potentially extend to other cancers. Fewer re-excisions could also cut healthcare costs.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Srivalleesha Mallidi
Tufts University, MA·Biomedical Engineering
Synthesize and characterize Verosite nanodroplets — perfluorocarbon particles carrying the photosensitizer verteporfin, oxygen, and indocyanine green dye — and optimize their stability and light-triggered liquid-to-gas conversion.
Mekhail Anwar
University of California-San Francisco, CA·Biomedical Engineering
Develop and test PET imaging of granzyme B, a molecule released by active killer T cells, and of tumor neutrophil levels to detect early response or resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors in mouse tumor models.
Haichong Zhang
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, MA·Biomedical Engineering
Develop multiparametric photoacoustic imaging that simultaneously quantifies a PSMA-targeted contrast agent and blood oxygen saturation, to identify abnormal prostate tissue and gauge cancer aggressiveness.
The school
Case Western Reserve University: 34 labs on PI Pages, $643M a year on research, 213 research doctorates a year.
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