Events

Evaluating the Tumor Microenvironment Using EPR Imaging

​About the Speaker: Dr. Marty Pagel has focused on molecular imaging research during the last 20 years in industry and academia.  He is a Professor in the Departments of Cancer Systems Imaging and Imaging Physics at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.  In addition, Dr. Pagel has held leadership positions in professional societies, funding agencies, and scientific journals that focus on molecular imaging.  Dr. Pagel’s current research focuses on CEST MRI, PET/MRI, photoacoustic imaging, and EPR imaging, for studies of tumor hypoxia, acidosis, vascular perfusion and enzyme activity, with mouse models of cancer and for clinical trials with cancer patients.

About the Webinar: Previous studies with EPR imaging have shown that measurements of tumor pO₂ can indicate the status of hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment, which can be used to predict response to radiation therapy.  To build on these previous studies, we are developing Oxygen Enhanced (OE) EPR imaging that challenges a pre-clinical tumor model with 21% O₂ (medical grade air) and 100% O₂ in the anesthetic carrier gas, which can be a useful biomarker for evaluating early response to radiation therapy.  In addition, we are developing Dynamic Contrast Enhanced (DCE) EPR imaging that measures tumor vascular perfusion, as a complimentary biomarker for evaluating early response to cancer treatment.  This presentation will also discuss our ongoing research studies that show how tumor hypoxia causes resistance to immunotherapy, and how reducing hypoxia can improve tumor control with immune checkpoint blockade.