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Full-Text Articles in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Development Of A Muc16-Targeted Near-Infrared Antibody Probe For Fluorescence-Guided Surgery Of Pancreatic Cancer, Madeline T. Olson Dec 2021

Development Of A Muc16-Targeted Near-Infrared Antibody Probe For Fluorescence-Guided Surgery Of Pancreatic Cancer, Madeline T. Olson

Theses & Dissertations

Pancreatic cancer (PDAC) is an extremely lethal disease with an overall survival rate of 10%. Surgery remains the only potentially curative treatment option, but resections are complicated by infiltrative disease, proximity of critical vasculature, peritumoral inflammation, and dense stroma. Surgeons are limited to tactile and visual cues to differentiate cancerous tissue from normal tissue. Furthermore, translating preoperative images to the intraoperative setting poses additional challenges for tumor detection, and can result in undetected and unresected lesions. Thus, PDAC has high rates of incomplete resections, and subsequently, disease recurrence. Fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) has emerged as a method to improve intraoperative detection …


Nanoparticle T Cell Engagers As A Modular Platform For Cancer Immunotherapy, Kinan Alhallak Aug 2021

Nanoparticle T Cell Engagers As A Modular Platform For Cancer Immunotherapy, Kinan Alhallak

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Immunotherapy has advanced significantly in recent years due to its promising clinical outcomes in a variety of malignancies and holds great promise in becoming the “cure” for cancer. Cancer immunotherapy is the treatment that stimulates a person’s own immune system to recognize, target, and eliminate cancer cells. As the field progresses with emerging and novel strategies, the ability to manipulate the immune system while mitigating toxicities is the goal for clinical translation. To control for both efficacy and safety, biomaterials have been incorporated into immunotherapies to achieve tissue- and/or cell-specific immunomodulation, overcome immunosuppression, and address tumor microenvironment heterogeneity.T cell-based immunotherapy, …


Mechanisms Of Apoptosis Induced By Actinomycin D In Aerodigestive Tract Cancers, Adeoluwa Ayodeji Adeluola Jan 2021

Mechanisms Of Apoptosis Induced By Actinomycin D In Aerodigestive Tract Cancers, Adeoluwa Ayodeji Adeluola

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Upper aerodigestive tract cancers including cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, and lungs are the most prevalent cancers and leading causes of cancer-related deaths. Collectively, over 300,000 new cases and 146,500 deaths are projected within the US in the year 2021. Drug-associated toxicities, as well as resistance to therapy (intrinsic and acquired), are big challenges for successfully treating these cancers. Recent studies have shown that combining low-dose actinomycin D with existing therapies is a promising strategy to reduce toxicity (cyclotherapy) and to overcome resistance. The development of these treatment strategies however requires an understanding of the molecular mechanisms …


Bypassing The Blood-Brain Barrier: A Physical And Pharmacological Approach For The Treatment Of Metastatic Brain Tumors, Samuel A. Sprowls Jan 2021

Bypassing The Blood-Brain Barrier: A Physical And Pharmacological Approach For The Treatment Of Metastatic Brain Tumors, Samuel A. Sprowls

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation (a) provided an in depth literature review of methods to disrupt the BBB/BTB and improve therapeutic distribution to brain tumors, (b) evaluated the use of azacitidine as a single agent therapy for the treatment of brain metastasis of breast cancer and a potential molecular mechanism by which brain tropic cells are sensitized to hypomethylating agents, (c) determined the impact cannabidiol has on P-glycoprotein mediated efflux at the blood-brain barrier and its potential for use as a single agent treatment for metastatic brain tumors, (d) developed a preclinical radiation therapy protocol for use in small animals and in vitro …


Association Of Incident Cancer To Low-Value Care And Healthcare Cost Burden Among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries, Chibuzo Iloabuchi Jan 2021

Association Of Incident Cancer To Low-Value Care And Healthcare Cost Burden Among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries, Chibuzo Iloabuchi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In the United States (US), 25% of healthcare spending is considered wasteful because it is spent reimbursing low-value care. Low-value care is the utilization of healthcare services, medical tests, and procedures that have unclear or no clinical benefit to patients but still exposes them to risk. World-wide, low-value care imposes a significant economic burden on patients, payers, governments, and society. Cancer care among older adults > 65 years is one of the biggest drivers of healthcare expenditure in the US and accounts for nearly 40% of all spending, and low-value care among cancer patients is prevalent and contributes to the financial …