Research

Project 1: The ILLUMIATE Study

Our clinical research team is involved in conducting a Phase-2 clinical trial which involving a drug called Pegsitacianine based on the fluorescent nanoparticles developed in our lab.   This study is to investigate whether Pegsitacianine can be used to image head and neck cancers as well as unknown primary cancers (UPC) of the head and neck after being given intravenously. More precise detection of unknown primary cancers and precise delineation of cancer margins can potentially assist surgeons intraoperatively and allow more complete tumor resections. The study is divided into 2 parts:

Part 1

Patients with visible head and neck cancer will be given Pegsitacianine before undergoing tumor removal surgery.

Part 2

Patients who have head and neck cancer but where the primary or location where the cancer originally started is unknown (UPC).

Purple slide with heat spot

For more details refer to the attached flyer and ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT05576974 
If you are interested to participate in the trial, please contact our research department at Email

Reference: 
Fluorescent nanoprobe lights the way to reducing spread of cancer cells | Cancer | Discovery | ENT | UT Southwestern Medical Center