Minimally invasive quantitative tissue oxygen sensors to personalize cancer care

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Project Summary and Abstract Hypoxic (oxygen depleted) tumors are more resistant to treatments including radiation therapy. This trend has been seen across a wide range of cancers including prostate, head and neck, and cervical. Radiobiological studies have shown that elevated radiation doses can be used to overcome hypoxia-induced resistance and achieve the same level of effectiveness as lower doses in more well-oxygenated environments. The major impediment to implementing this (and other) hypoxia targeting therapies is the lack of a suitable oxygen sensor. Actionable oxygen sensors should be quantitative, workflow compatible, and provide spatial context for each measurement. Current and past alternatives for oxygen sensing are either qualitative, too invasive, or both. The proposed oxygen sensor will offer a workflow-compatible method to obtain quantitative tumor oxygen data. The sensor is measured non-invasively using MRI which provides a spatial/anatomical context for each measurement. The sensor is made completely of silicone, inserted with minimally invasive methods, equilibrates quickly with the surrounding tissue, and is fully reversible. The polymeric nature of the material allows it to remain at the site of insertion indefinitely to enable long-term monitoring. The proposed work focuses on selection of a lead formulation (Aim 1), evaluation in a small animal tumor model (Aim 2), and evaluation in a large animal model to mimic the tissue volumes expected during human use (Aim 3). The sensor produced as part of this proposal will be translatable to additional applications in oncology, but also to non-oncology applications including tissue health and trauma.