Diseases Commons^™

Photothermal Therapy Improves The Efficacy Of A Mek Inhibitor In Neurofibromatosis Type 1-Associated Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors., Elizabeth E. Sweeney, Rachel A. Burga, Chaoyang Li, Yuan Zhu, Rohan Fernandes

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are aggressive tumors with low survival rates and the leading cause of death in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients under 40 years old. Surgical resection is the standard of care for MPNSTs, but is often incomplete and can generate loss of function, necessitating the development of novel treatment methods for this patient population. Here, we describe a novel combination therapy comprising MEK inhibition and nanoparticle-based photothermal therapy (PTT) for MPNSTs. MEK inhibitors block activity driven by Ras, an oncogene constitutively activated in NF1-associated MPNSTs, while PTT serves as a minimally invasive method to ablate …