EPR Tumor Oximetry With CE India Ink

Summary

It has been well established that malignant tumors tend to have low levels of oxygen and that tumors with very low levels of oxygen are more resistant to radiotherapy and other treatments, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Previous attempts to improve response to therapy by increasing the oxygen level of tissues have had disappointing results and collectively have not led to changing clinical practice. Without a method to measure oxygen levels in tumors or the ability to monitor over time whether tumors are responding to methods to increase oxygen during therapy, clinician's reluctance to use oxygen therapy in usual practice is not surprising.

The hypothesis underlying this research is that repeated measurements of tissue oxygen levels can be used to optimize cancer therapy, including combined therapy, and to minimize normal tissue side effects or complications. Because studies have found that tumors vary both in their initial levels of oxygen and exhibit changing patterns during growth and treatment, we propose to monitor oxygen levels in tumors and their responsiveness to hyperoxygenation procedures. Such knowledge about oxygen levels in tumor tissues and their responsiveness to hyper-oxygenation could potentially be used to select subjects for particular types of treatment, or otherwise to adjust routine care for patients known to have hypoxic but unresponsive tumors in order to improve their outcomes.

The overall objectives of this study are to establish the clinical feasibility and efficacy of using in vivo electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) oximetry-a technique related to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-to obtain direct and repeated measurements of clinically useful information about tumor tissue oxygenation in specific groups of subjects with the same types of tumors, and to establish the clinical feasibility and efficacy of using inhalation of enriched oxygen to gain additional clinically useful information about responsiveness of tumors to hyper-oxygenation. Two devices are used: a paramagnetic charcoal suspension (Carlo Erba India ink) and in vivo EPR oximetry to assess oxygen levels. The ink is injected and becomes permanent in the tissue at the site of injection unless removed; thereafter, the in vivo oximetry measurements are noninvasive and can be repeated indefinitely.

Conditions

• Neoplasms, Malignant
• Breast Neoplasm
• Carcinoma, Basal Cell
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
• Melanoma
• Skin Neoplasm
• Head and Neck Neoplasms

Interventions

DEVICE

Carlo Erba Ink Injection

Carlo Erba India ink is used in this study as a paramagnetic oxygen sensor that is injected into tissue, and which, when measured using EPR Oximetry, can provide sensitive, repeated, and direct measurements of tissue oxygen. Each study participant will receive at least one ink injection of 20-50µL of Carlo Erba India Ink. The ink injection will occur within 5mm of the body surface (i.e., skin or mucosa), and may be injected into tumor, postsurgical field of radiation, and/or adjacent normal tissue. Carlo Erba Ink is an aqueous suspension composed of charcoal powder, water for injection, and a suspending agent. Carlo Erba is the name of the manufacturer that supplies the charcoal.

OTHER

EPR Oximetry Measurement

An oximetry measurement visit consists of \~ 30 minutes of continuous scans of tissue oxygen in vivo, using an oxygen sensor (i.e., India ink) injected into the tumor that is noninvasively scanned using EPR oximetry. Scans, converted into measurements of pO2, characterize the current tumor oxygen level at: (1) 'steady state' (while breathing room air), 2) response to hyperoxygenation therapy (inhaling oxygen-enriched air for 10 min), and 3) response to resuming inhaling room air. EPR measurements are repeated noninvasively throughout radiation or chemotherapy, to examine changes. The minimum number of visits depends on the patient's cohort; all may have additional measurements. If the ink injection is not surgically removed, EPR oximetry measurements can be repeated indefinitely.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Cancer Institute (NCI)

  collaborator NIH

• Philip Schaner

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Philip E Schaner, M.D., Ph.D. · Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-08-30

Primary Completion

2019-10-27

Completion

2019-10-27

Countries

• United States

Study Locations