New treatment of brain tumors in dogs: minimally invasive image-guided treatment by injection of radioactive holmium-166 microspheres
Yearly 4 million people are diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The average life expectancy of these patients is less than a year. The number of patients that are yearly diagnosed with brain tumors and the life expectancy of these patients are comparable between humans and dogs. In addition, many similarities exist between the brain structure and tumor characteristics between humans and dogs. In both species, the current treatment options like surgery and radiation therapy rarely result in curation and these are often accompanied by significant side effects.
Background and PhD research
Chiron Morsink graduated from Technical Medicine in 2018 (track Medical Imaging & Interventions), including a Radiation Protection level 3 certification. During his clinical internships and graduation internship in the AMC Amsterdam (Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Radiotherapy), and the UMC Utrecht (Surgery, Cardiology), he has developed special interest in (pre-)clinical validation of novel treatment options, with a focus on improving (minimally invasive) surgery, the use of multi-modality imaging techniques, and medical robotics. After his graduation, he started his PhD research in 2018 into image-guided intratumoral treatment of brain tumors by injection of (radioactive) holmium-166 microspheres, under guidance of co-promotors dr. S.A. van Nimwegen (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine) and dr. J.F.W. Nijsen (Radboudumc), and promotor prof. dr. J.W. Hesselink (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine).
The aims of his research are
- Optimizing the intratumoral administration (carrier medium and injection device).
- Developing and optimizing holmium dosimetry on CT imaging.
- Evaluating clinical safety and efficacy of holmium-166 microbrachytherapy in client-owned dogs (patients) with spontaneously developed brain tumors.
Research consortium
To achieve these aims, there is close collaboration with the departments (Bio)Mechanical Engineering of the TU Delft, Neurosurgery of the Radboudumc, and Quirem Medical B.V. (A Terumo company). Within the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiron is part of the OnGo research group, which aims to deliver state of the art oncological care for veterinary patients using translational research and treatment (One Health). Within the Radboudumc, Chiron is part of the research group Experimental Interventional Nuclear Medicine which is led by dr. Nijsen. Multiple researchers and clinicians are working together within this group to deliver better patient care by developing and improving local image-guided radionuclide therapies (trans-arterial and intratumoral) of tumors in the liver, the brain, and the pancreas.