Noninvasive Measurement of Tumor Kill Versus Systemic Toxicity

We developed a unique molecular imaging technique which enables, for the first time, the noninvasive detection of toxicity-induced apoptosis in the whole body. The immediate goal of this project is to apply the technique, “Toxicity Scan”, to characterizing the differential between the efficacy of tumor kill and collateral toxic effects of Venetoclax-based mono- and combination therapies against lymphomas. As Venetoclax is increasingly finding applications in various subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphomas, there presents a need for predicting the in vivo therapeutic outcome for these new therapies, including tumor kill and toxicity-induced damages in normal tissues. This imaging-based novel approach will provide timely information on optimizing dosing and drug combination for prioritized clinical translation of efficacious therapies with minimal off-target tissue damages, while identifying and eliminating therapeutics with poor tumor kill and/or significant toxicity to vital organs/tissues. The long-term goal is to translate the concept of Toxicity Scan to clinical use, which will benefit anticancer therapeutics on a personalized basis.