The overall goal of this project is to identify patients with treatment-resistant tumors much earlier than currently possible so that treatment strategies can be adapted accordingly. Ongoing work using diffuse reflectance and Raman spectroscopy has identified significant differences in tumor oxygenation, collagen, and lipid content between treatment-resistant and sensitive tumors. Our studies have identified markers of treatment resistance to radiation therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Collaborators: Ruud P.M. Dings, PhD and Robert J. Griffin, PhD (UAMS), Ishan Barman, PhD (Johns Hopkins University)
Funding: National Cancer Institute (R01CA238025, R15CA238861), Arkansas Biosciences Institute, Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, American Head and Neck Society
Relevant Publications:
Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy of changes in tumor microenvironment in response to different doses of radiation
Jules AF, Means DA, Rodriguez Troncoso JI, Fernandes A, Dadgar S, Siegel ER, and Rajaram N, Radiation Research
Spectroscopic investigation of radiation-induced reoxygenation in radiation-resistant tumors
Dadgar S, Rodriguez Troncoso JI, Siegel ER, Griffin RJ, Dings PM, Rajaram N,Neoplasia
Raman spectroscopy and machine learning reveals early tumor microenvironmental changes induced by immunotherapy
Paidi SK, Rodriguez Troncoso JI, Raj P, Monterroso Diaz PM, Ivers JD, Lee DE, Avaritt NL, Gies AJ, Quick CM, Byrum SD, Tackett AJ, Rajaram N, Barman I, Cancer Research
Longitudinal monitoring of tumor response to immune checkpoint inhibitors using noninvasive diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.
Rodriguez Troncoso JI, Monterroso Diaz PM, Lee DE, Quick CM, Rajaram N, Biomedical Optics Express
Label-free Raman spectroscopy reveals signatures of radiation resistance in the tumor microenvironment
Paidi SK, Diaz PM, Dadgar S, Jenkins SV, Quick CM, Griffin RJ, Dings RPM, Rajaram N, and Barman I, Cancer Research
Optical spectroscopic sensing of tumor hypoxia
Dadgar S, Rodriguez Troncoso JI, and Rajaram N, Journal of Biomedical Optics
Quantitative diffuse reflectance spectroscopy of short-term changes in tumor oxygenation after radiation in a matched model of radiation resistance
Diaz PM, Jenkins SV, Alhallak K, Semeniak D, Griffin RJ, Dings RPM, and Rajaram N, Biomedical Optics Express