# Image-guided Interventional Combination Liver Cancer Immunotherapy

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $375,601

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
For clinical application, a critical remaining hurdle for natural killer (NK) cell-based adoptive transfer
immunotherapy (ATI) is the inadequate homing efficiency of ex vivo-expanded effector NKs to the targeted
tumor tissues. Another significant obstacle is the lack of well-established non-invasive tools for monitoring NK
cell trafficking to tumor tissues. Currently, NK cell-based ATI (NK-ATI) responders or non-responders are
identified by changes in serum biomarkers or tumor size, both of which may not occur until weeks or months
after therapy initiation. Serial monitoring of NK cell migration to tumors during ATI could alternatively serve as
an important early biomarker for timely prediction of longitudinal response, thus affording early adjustments to
each individual patient’s therapeutic regimen.
Recently, our studies have demonstrated that sorafenib not only inhibits tumor cell proliferation, but also
promotes antitumor activity of NKs. Therefore, concurrent administration of sorafenib may be critical for
sustained NK activation and cytotoxicity.
We have developed biodegradable sorafenib-eluting microsphere (SEM, with a diameter of 492 ± 34 nm;
nano-SEM) delivery platforms that significantly increase therapeutic efficacy via image-guided transcatheter
IHA delivery. We will develop a new image-guided interventional combination liver cancer immunotherapy
approach including a) image-guided transcatheter IHA infusion of NKs directly into the blood supply of targeted
liver tumor(s) and b) concurrent infusion of nano-SEMs to enhance sorafenib therapeutic efficacy (with minimal
side effects) and to strengthen NK antitumor activity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9971015
- **Project number:** 1R01CA241532-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Vahid Yaghmai
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $375,601
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-03-15 → 2021-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9971015

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9971015, Image-guided Interventional Combination Liver Cancer Immunotherapy (1R01CA241532-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9971015. Licensed CC0.

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