# Image-Guided Drug Delivery for Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor.

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2020 · $658,475

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) are a rare type of cancer that originate in the islets of Langerhans,
where important hormones including glucagon, insulin, and somatostatin are produced. These tumors are
extremely small and have a variety of general symptoms. Most cases of PNETs are diagnosed when they are
in the later stages of development because of this difficulty of detection. Current chemotherapeutic agents lack
any real degree of potency in treating PNETs because of complex functions and compositions of pancreas,
which prevents specific targeting and delivery of therapeutics. Therefore, surgical resection remains the
mainstay of treatment; however, visualization of tumors during operation has been a major challenge.
 Our hypothesis is that multifunctional nanoprobes, that target PNETs with near-infrared (NIR)
fluorescence and radioimaging, will provide sensitive, specific, and real-time image-guidance for early
diagnosis and improved therapeutic interventions, including targeted chemotherapy and image-guided tumor
resection. The specific aims of this study are focused on developing multifunctional nanoprobes which will
enable the targeting, imaging, and image-guided intervention of PNETs; the evaluation of the cellular
mechanism and biodistribution of the targeted nanoprobes; and the translation of the tumor-specific
nanoprobes for image-guided interventions including chemotherapy and image-guided surgery. The impact of
this study will be the creation of an innovative concept to confront the lack of diagnostic systems for early stage
PNETs, and the creation of a therapeutic effect through the systemic delivery of therapeutic drugs to the
pancreas.
 When used with an appropriate intraoperative imaging system, NIR fluorescent light from 650 to 900 nm
can provide surgeons with real-time localization of normal and diseased tissue, without changing the look of
the surgical field. The intraoperative imaging system provides real-time imaging of surgical anatomy (i.e., color
video) and two independent channels of NIR fluorescent light (700 nm and 800 nm emission). One NIR
channel is typically reserved for a target tissue (e.g., tumor) while the other is reserved for vital tissue that
needs to be avoided (e.g., nerves, blood vessels, lymph nodes, etc.). NIR fluorescence, paired with this
instrumentation and targeted contrast agents, provides interference-free imaging by avoiding biomolecular
autofluorescence and nonspecific organ uptake in the living organism.!The focus of this application is on the
development of multifunctional nanoprobes, because the NIR imaging system and a PNET-targeted small
molecule inhibitor are already available for preclinical studies. We describe the systematic optimization of
chemical composition, including surface charge, systemic delivery, tumor retention, and clearance for targeted
nanoprobes through the use of in vitro and in vivo bioassays and bioimaging, as well as preclinical vali...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9971531
- **Project number:** 5R01EB022230-04
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Hak Soo Choi
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $658,475
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-16 → 2022-09-21

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9971531

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9971531, Image-Guided Drug Delivery for Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor. (5R01EB022230-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9971531. Licensed CC0.

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