PROJECT SUMMARY Early cancer detection and diagnosis are critical for patient survival and treatment success. For the imaging of breast and other solid tumors, the diagnostic power of advanced imaging techniques such as SPECT could benefit tremendously from improved contrast agents that rapidly and selectively accumulate in tumor lesions and produce high tumor-to-background signal ratios. We are developing a novel contrast imaging agent for use in breast cancer and other solid tumors that can enhance image resolution by selectively targeting and delivering imaging probes directly into tumor lesions with little or no accumulation in surrounding normal tissue. To do this, we are conjugating 99mTc to an antibody-based delivery platform that exploits a caveolae-mediated transvascular transport pathway to target and rapidly deliver cargo across the restrictive vascular endothelium directly into tumor lesions following intravenous injection. This novel imaging probe will be optimized and then tested in vivo before undergoing the necessary preparations to undergo clinical testing. With assistance from the I-Corps program, we will further develop and refine our commercialization strategies as a necessary step towards bringing this innovative technology to the clinic and the marketplace.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter