Cameron Young

About Me

Hello! My name is Cameron Young and I am currently a Churchill Scholar at the University of Cambridge completing an MPhil degree in Medical Sciences with the Caldas Lab at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute developing personalized and precision therapeutic strategies using genomics data. Previously, I graduated from Northeastern University with degrees in chemical engineering and biochemistry. I have a strong passion for medical research and have been involved in a diverse range of projects throughout my career. My work has resulted in several high impact journal articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and the Nature family of journals, among others. I was the first recepitent of the Churchill Scholarship in the history of Northeastern University and was also awarded a Goldwater Scholarship. Following my graduation in June 2023, I will matriculate to Harvard Medical School for my MD degree. Outside of research, I enjoy exercise, CrossFit, running, cooking, and exploring new places. To learn more about my research click here, or you can view my CV here.

You can also email me, connect with me on LinkedIn, or find me on Twitter below!

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Research Experience

I have been engaged in academic research since the beginning of my undergraduate career. My work first began in the lab of Professor Ambika Bapayee at Northeastern University investigation drug delivery to negatively charged tissues and age-related tissue culture models of osteoarthritis. I then completed a co-op experience with Dr. Giovanni Traverso at Brigham and Women's Hospital and MIT where I developed a novel class of personalized radiation attenuating materials and explored how drug-drug interactions affected uptake in the gastrointestinal tract. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked with Dr. Adrienne Randolph at Boston Children's Hospital in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In this role, I helped lead a nationwide surveillance registry to track and characterize severe pediatric COVID-19 related illness and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). Most recently, I completed a MPhil degree at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute with Professor Carlos Caldas and Oscar Rueda. My thesis involved the development and validation of a reliable copy-number-based classifier for breast cancer integrative cluster classification. By applying state-of-the-art machine learning techniques, I developed a classifier, CopyClust that improved the classification performance of breast cancer tumors with copy number data alone by >20% and is available as an open-source R package. This classifier will be utilized for integrative cluster determination in many ongoing, large-scale genomics studies.

Publications

1. Ouldali N, Son MBF, McArdle AJ, Vito O, Vaugon E, Belot A, Leblanc C, Murray NL, Patel MM, Levin M, Randolph AG, Angoulvant F. Immunomodulatory Therapy for MIS-C. Pediatrics. 2023. doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-061173
2. Zambrano LD, Wu MJ, Martin L, Malloch L, Chen S, Newhams MM, Kucukak S, Son MB, Sanders C, Patterson K, Halasa N, Fitzgerald JC, Leroue MK, Hall M, Irby K, Rowan CM, Wellnitz K, Sahni LC, Loftis L, Bradford TT, Staat M, Babbitt C, Carroll CL, Pannaraj PS, Kong M, Schuster JE, Chou J, Patel MM, Randolph AG, Campbell AP, Hobbs CV. Risk Factors for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children: A Case-Control Investigation. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2023. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000003900
3. Bembea MM, Loftis LL, Thiagarajan RR, Young CC, McCadden TP, Newhams MM, Kucukak S, Mack EH, Fitzgerald JC, Rowan CM, Maddux AB, Kolmar AR, Irby K, Heidemann S, Schwartz SP, Kong M, Crandall H, Havlin KM, Singh AR, Schuster JE, Hall MW, Wellnitz KA, Maamari M, Gaspers MG, Nofziger RA, Lim PPC, Carroll RW, Coronado Munoz A, Bradford TT, Cullimore ML, Halasa NB, McLaughlin GE, Pannaraj PS, Cvijanovich NZ, Zinter MS, Coates BM, Horwitz SM, Hobbs CV, Dapul H, Graciano AL, Butler AD, Patel MM, Zambrano LD, Campbell AP, Randolph AG. Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Characteristics and Outcomes in Children and Adolescents With COVID-19 or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome Admitted to US ICUs. Pediatr. Crit. Care Med. 2023. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000003212
4. Bodansky A, Vazquez SE, Chou J, Novak T, Al-Musa A, Young CC, Newhams M, Kucukak S, Zambrano LD, Mitchell A, Wang CY, Moffitt K, Halasa NB, Loftis LL, Schwartz SP, Walker TC, Mack EH, Fitzgerald JC, Gertz SJ, Rowan CM, Irby K, Sanders RC, Jr., Kong M, Schuster JE, Staat MA, Zinter MS, Cvijanovich NZ, Tarquinio KM, Coates BM, Flori HR, Dahmer MK, Crandall H, Cullimore ML, Levy ER, Chatani B, Nofziger R, Geha RS, DeRisi J, Campbell AP, Anderson M, Randolph AG. NFKB2 haploinsufficiency identified via screening for IFNα autoantibodies in children and adolescents hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2-related complications. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2022.11.020
5. LaRovere KL, Poussaint TY, Young CC, Newhams MM, Kucukak S, Irby K, Kong M, Schwartz SP, Walker TC, Bembea MM, Wellnitz K, Havlin KM, Cvijanovich NZ, Hall MW, Fitzgerald JC, Schuster JE, Hobbs CV, Halasa NB, Singh AR, Mack EH, Bradford TT, Gertz SJ, Schwarz AJ, Typpo KV, Loftis LL, Giuliano JS, Jr., Horwitz SM, Biagas KV, Clouser KN, Rowan CM, Maddux AB, Soma VL, Babbitt CJ, Aguiar CL, Kolmar AR, Heidemann SM, Harvey H, Zambrano LD, Campbell AP, Randolph AG. Changes in Distribution of Severe Neurologic Involvement in US Pediatric Inpatients With COVID-19 or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children in 2021 vs 2020. JAMA Neurol. 2022. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.3881
6. Son MBF, Berbert L, Young CC, Dallas J, Newhams M, Chen S, Ardoin SP, Basiaga ML, Canny SP, Crandall H, Dhakal S, Dhanrajani A, Sagcal-Gironella ACP, Hobbs CV, Huie L, James K, Jones M, Kim S, Lionetti G, Mannion ML, Muscal E, Prahalad S, Schulert GS, Tejtel KS, Villacis-Nunez DS, Wu EY, Zambrano LD, Campbell AP, Patel MM, Randolph AG. Postdischarge Glucocorticoid Use and Clinical Outcomes of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. JAMA Netw Open. 2022. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.41622
7. Benamar M, Chen Q, Chou J, Jule AM, Boudra R, Contini P, Crestani E, Lai PS, Wang M, Fong J, Rockwitz S, Lee PY, Chan TMF, Altun EZ, Kepenekli E, Karakoc-Aydiner E, Ozen A, Boran P, Aygun F, Onal P, Kilinc Sakalli AA, Cokugras H, Gelmez MY, Oktelik FB, Cetin Aktas E, Zhong Y, Taylor ML, Irby K, Halasa NB, Mack EH, Signa S, Prigione I, Gattorno M, Cotugno N, Amodio D, Geha RS, Son MB, Newburger JW, Agrawal PB, Volpi S, Palma P, Kiykim A, Randolph A, Deniz G, Baris S, De Palma R, Schmitz-Abe K, Charbonnier LM, Henderson LA, Chatila TA. The Notch1/CD22 signaling axis disrupts Treg cell function in SARS-CoV2-associated multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. J Clin Invest. 2022. doi: 10.1172/JCI163235
8. Dionne A, Friedman KG, Young CC, Newhams MM, Kucukak S, Jackson AM, Fitzgerald JC, Smallcomb LS, Heidemann S, McLaughlin GE, Irby K, Bradford TT, Horwitz SM, Loftis LL, Soma VL, Rowan CM, Kong M, Halasa NB, Tarquinio KM, Schwarz AJ, Hume JR, Gertz SJ, Clouser KN, Carroll CL, Wellnitz K, Cullimore ML, Doymaz S, Levy ER, Typpo KV, Lansell AN, Butler AD, Kuebler JD, Zambrano LD, Campbell AP, Patel MM, Randolph AG, Newburger JW. Tachyarrhythmias During Hospitalization for COVID-19 or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children and Adolescents. J Am Heart Assoc. 2022. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.122.025915
9. Melgar M, Seaby EG, McArdle AJ, Young CC, Campbell AP, Murray NL, Patel MM, Levin M, Randolph AG, Son MBF. Treatment of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children: Understanding Differences in Results of Comparative Effectiveness Studies. ACR Open Rheumatol. 2022. doi: 10.1002/acr2.11478
10. Zambrano LD, Ly KN, Link-Gelles R, Newhams MM, Akande M, Wu MJ, Feldstein LR, Tarquinio KM, Sahni LC, Riggs BJ, Singh AR, Fitzgerald JC, Schuster JE, Giuliano JS, Jr., Englund JA, Hume JR, Hall MW, Osborne CM, Doymaz S, Rowan CM, Babbitt CJ, Clouser KN, Horwitz SM, Chou J, Patel MM, Hobbs C, Randolph AG, Campbell AP. Investigating Health Disparities Associated With Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children After SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2022. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000003689
11. Zambrano LD, Newhams MM, Olson SM, Halasa NB, Price AM, Orzel AO, Young CC, Boom JA, Sahni LC, Maddux AB, Bline KE, Kamidani S, Tarquinio KM, Chiotos K, Schuster JE, Cullimore ML, Heidemann SM, Hobbs CV, Nofziger RA, Pannaraj PS, Cameron MA, Walker TC, Schwartz SP, Michelson KN, Coates BM, Flori HR, Mack EH, Smallcomb L, Gertz SJ, Bhumbra SS, Bradford TT, Levy ER, Kong M, Irby K, Cvijanovich NZ, Zinter MS, Bowens C, Crandall H, Hume JR, Patel MM, Campbell AP, Randolph AG. BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccination Against COVID-19 is Associated with Decreased Likelihood of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in U.S. Children Ages 5-18 Years. Clin Infect Dis. 2022. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac637
12. Maddux AB, Berbert L, Young CC, Feldstein LR, Zambrano LD, Kucukak S, Newhams MM, Miller K, FitzGerald MM, He J, Halasa NB, Cvijanovich NZ, Loftis LL, Walker TC, Schwartz SP, Gertz SJ, Tarquinio KM, Fitzgerald JC, Kong M, Schuster JE, Mack EH, Hobbs CV, Rowan CM, Staat MA, Zinter MS, Irby K, Crandall H, Flori H, Cullimore ML, Nofziger RA, Shein SL, Gaspers MG, Hume JR, Levy ER, Chen SR, Patel MM, Tenforde MW, Weller E, Campbell AP, Randolph AG. Health Impairments in Children and Adolescents After Hospitalization for Acute COVID-19 or MIS-C. Pediatrics. 2022. doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-057798
13. Halasa NB, Spieker AJ, Young CC, Olson SM, Newhams MM, Amarin JZ, Moffitt KL, Nakamura MM, Levy ER, Soma VL, Talj R, Weiss SL, Fitzgerald JC, Mack EH, Maddux AB, Schuster JE, Coates BM, Hall MW, Schwartz SP, Schwarz AJ, Kong M, Spinella PC, Loftis LL, McLaughlin GE, Hobbs CV, Rowan CM, Bembea MM, Nofziger RA, Babbitt CJ, Bowens C, Flori HR, Gertz SJ, Zinter MS, Giuliano JS, Hume JR, Cvijanovich NZ, Singh AR, Crandall HA, Thomas NJ, Cullimore ML, Patel MM, Randolph AG, Pediatric Intensive Care I. Life-Threatening Complications of Influenza versus COVID-19 in U.S. Children. Clin Infect Dis. 2022. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac477
14. Tang J, Novak T, Hecker J, Grubbs G, Zahra FT, Bellusci L, Pourhashemi S, Chou J, Moffitt K, Halasa NB, Schwartz SP, Walker TC, Tarquinio KM, Zinter MS, Staat MA, Gertz SJ, Cvijanovich NZ, Schuster JE, Loftis LL, Coates BM, Mack EH, Irby K, Fitzgerald JC, Rowan CM, Kong M, Flori HR, Maddux AB, Shein SL, Crandall H, Hume JR, Hobbs CV, Tremoulet AH, Shimizu C, Burns JC, Chen SR, Moon HK, Lange C, Randolph AG, Khurana S. Cross-reactive immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is low in pediatric patients with prior COVID-19 or MIS-C. Nat Commun. 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-30649-1
15. Schuster JE, Halasa NB, Nakamura M, Levy ER, Fitzgerald JC, Young CC, Newhams MM, Bourgeois F, Staat MA, Hobbs CV, Dapul H, Feldstein LR, Jackson AM, Mack EH, Walker TC, Maddux AB, Spinella PC, Loftis LL, Kong M, Rowan CM, Bembea MM, McLaughlin GE, Hall MW, Babbitt CJ, Maamari M, Zinter MS, Cvijanovich NZ, Michelson KN, Gertz SJ, Carroll CL, Thomas NJ, Giuliano JS, Singh AR, Hymes SR, Schwarz AJ, McGuire JK, Nofziger RA, Flori HR, Clouser KN, Wellnitz K, Cullimore ML, Hume JR, Patel M, Randolph AG. A Description of COVID-19-Directed Therapy in Children Admitted to US Intensive Care Units 2020. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2022. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piab123
16. Young CC, Byrne JD, Wentworth AJ, Collins JE, Chu JN, Traverso G. Respirators in Healthcare: Material, Design, Regulatory, Environmental, and Economic Considerations for Clinical Efficacy. Glob Chall. 2022. doi: 10.1002/gch2.202200001
17. Hobbs CV, Woodworth K, Young CC, Jackson AM, Newhams MM, Dapul H, Maamari M, Hall MW, Maddux AB, Singh AR, Schuster JE, Rowan CM, Fitzgerald JC, Irby K, Kong M, Mack EH, Staat MA, Cvijanovich NZ, Bembea MM, Coates BM, Halasa NB, Walker TC, McLaughlin GE, Babbitt CJ, Nofziger RA, Loftis LL, Bradford TT, Campbell AP, Patel MM, Randolph AG. Frequency, Characteristics and Complications of COVID-19 in Hospitalized Infants. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2022. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000003435
18. Sigal GB, Novak T, Mathew A, Chou J, Zhang Y, Manjula N, Bathala P, Joe J, Padmanabhan N, Romero D, Allegri-Machado G, Joerger J, Loftis LL, Schwartz SP, Walker TC, Fitzgerald JC, Tarquinio KM, Zinter MS, Schuster JE, Halasa NB, Cullimore ML, Maddux AB, Staat MA, Irby K, Flori HR, Coates BM, Crandall H, Gertz SJ, Randolph AG, Pollock NR. Measurement of SARS-CoV-2 antigens in plasma of pediatric patients with acute COVID-19 or MIS-C using an ultrasensitive and quantitative immunoassay. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac160
19. Mehta S*, Young CC*, Warren MR, Akhtar S, Shefelbine SJ, Crane JD, Bajpayee AG. Resveratrol and Curcumin Attenuate Ex Vivo Sugar-Induced Cartilage Glycation, Stiffening, Senescence, and Degeneration. Cartilage. 2021. doi: 10.1177/1947603520988768
20. Geva A, Patel MM, Newhams MM, Young CC, Son MBF, Kong M, Maddux AB, Hall MW, Riggs BJ, Singh AR, Giuliano JS, Hobbs CV, Loftis LL, McLaughlin GE, Schwartz SP, Schuster JE, Babbitt CJ, Halasa NB, Gertz SJ, Doymaz S, Hume JR, Bradford TT, Irby K, Carroll CL, McGuire JK, Tarquinio KM, Rowan CM, Mack EH, Cvijanovich NZ, Fitzgerald JC, Spinella PC, Staat MA, Clouser KN, Soma VL, Dapul H, Maamari M, Bowens C, Havlin KM, Mourani PM, Heidemann SM, Horwitz SM, Feldstein LR, Tenforde MW, Newburger JW, Mandl KD, Randolph AG. Data-driven clustering identifies features distinguishing multisystem inflammatory syndrome from acute COVID-19 in children and adolescents. EClinicalMedicine. 2021. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101112
21. Son MBF, Murray N, Friedman K, Young CC, Newhams MM, Feldstein LR, Loftis LL, Tarquinio KM, Singh AR, Heidemann SM, Soma VL, Riggs BJ, Fitzgerald JC, Kong M, Doymaz S, Giuliano JS, Jr., Keenaghan MA, Hume JR, Hobbs CV, Schuster JE, Clouser KN, Hall MW, Smith LS, Horwitz SM, Schwartz SP, Irby K, Bradford TT, Maddux AB, Babbitt CJ, Rowan CM, McLaughlin GE, Yager PH, Maamari M, Mack EH, Carroll CL, Montgomery VL, Halasa NB, Cvijanovich NZ, Coates BM, Rose CE, Newburger JW, Patel MM, Randolph AG. Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children - Initial Therapy and Outcomes. N Engl J Med. 2021. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2102605
22. Byrne JD, Young CC, Chu JN, Pursley J, Chen MX, Wentworth AJ, Feng A, Kirtane AR, Remillard KA, Hancox CI, Bhagwat MS, Machado N, Hua T, Tamang SM, Collins JE, Ishida K, Hayward A, Becker SL, Edgington SK, Schoenfeld JD, Jeck WR, Hur C, Traverso G. Personalized Radiation Attenuating Materials for Gastrointestinal Mucosal Protection. Adv. Sci. 2021. doi: 10.1002/advs.202100510
23. LaRovere KL, Riggs BJ, Poussaint TY, Young CC, Newhams MM, Maamari M, Walker TC, Singh AR, Dapul H, Hobbs CV, McLaughlin GE, Son MBF, Maddux AB, Clouser KN, Rowan CM, McGuire JK, Fitzgerald JC, Gertz SJ, Shein SL, Munoz AC, Thomas NJ, Irby K, Levy ER, Staat MA, Tenforde MW, Feldstein LR, Halasa NB, Giuliano JS, Jr., Hall MW, Kong M, Carroll CL, Schuster JE, Doymaz S, Loftis LL, Tarquinio KM, Babbitt CJ, Nofziger RA, Kleinman LC, Keenaghan MA, Cvijanovich NZ, Spinella PC, Hume JR, Wellnitz K, Mack EH, Michelson KN, Flori HR, Patel MM, Randolph AG. Neurologic Involvement in Children and Adolescents Hospitalized in the United States for COVID-19 or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome. JAMA Neurol. 2021. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.0504
24. Feldstein LR, Tenforde MW, Friedman KG, Newhams M, Rose EB, Dapul H, Soma VL, Maddux AB, Mourani PM, Bowens C, Maamari M, Hall MW, Riggs BJ, Giuliano JS, Jr., Singh AR, Li S, Kong M, Schuster JE, McLaughlin GE, Schwartz SP, Walker TC, Loftis LL, Hobbs CV, Halasa NB, Doymaz S, Babbitt CJ, Hume JR, Gertz SJ, Irby K, Clouser KN, Cvijanovich NZ, Bradford TT, Smith LS, Heidemann SM, Zackai SP, Wellnitz K, Nofziger RA, Horwitz SM, Carroll RW, Rowan CM, Tarquinio KM, Mack EH, Fitzgerald JC, Coates BM, Jackson AM, Young CC, Son MBF, Patel MM, Newburger JW, Randolph AG. Characteristics and Outcomes of US Children and Adolescents With Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Compared With Severe Acute COVID-19. JAMA. 2021. doi: 10.1001/jama.2021.2091
25. Byrne JD, Shakur R, Collins JE, Becker SL, Young CC, Boyce H, Traverso CG. Prophylaxis with tetracyclines in ARDS: Potential therapy for COVID-19-induced ARDS? medRxiv. 2020. doi: 10.1101/2020.07.22.20154542
26. Young CC, Vedadghavami A, Bajpayee AG. Bioelectricity for Drug Delivery: The Promise of Cationic Therapeutics. Bioelectricity. 2020. doi: 10.1089/bioe.2020.0012

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Development of Age-Related
Osteoarthritis Models

Introduction

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease, characterized by the breakdown of articular cartilage and subchondral bone, whose incidence increases with age affecting millions of individuals worldwide. Advanced glycation end-product (AGE) accumulation is implicated in OA. I developed a representative nonenzymatic glycation-induced OA cartilage explant culture model and investigated the effectiveness of natural compounds resveratrol, curcumin, and eugenol in inhibiting AGEs and the structural and biological hallmarks of cartilage degeneration.

Natural compounds show increased binding affinity to basic residues than sugars

Methods

I treated bovine cartilage explants with AGE–bovine serum albumin, threose, and ribose to determine the optimal conditions that induce physiological levels of AGEs while maintaining chondrocyte viability. Biochemical and biomechanical assays performed included: quantification of AGE crosslinks, tissue stiffness, cell viability, metabolism and senescence, nitrite release and loss of glycosaminoglycans. Explants were co-treated with resveratrol, curcumin, or eugenol to evaluate their anti-AGE properties. Blind docking analysis was conducted to estimate binding energies of drugs with collagen II.

Resveratrol and curcumin inhibit negative effects of AGEs

Results

Treatment with 100 mM ribose significantly increased AGE crosslink formation and tissue stiffness, resulting in reduced chondrocyte metabolism and enhanced senescence. Blind docking analysis revealed stronger binding energies of both resveratrol and curcumin than ribose, with glycation sites along a human collagen II fragment, indicating their increased likelihood of competitively inhibiting ribose activity. Resveratrol and curcumin, but not eugenol, successfully inhibited AGE crosslink formation and its associated downstream biological response.

Resveratrol and curcumin reduce IL1-induced sensence

Conclusion

I established a cartilage explant model of OA that recapitulates several aspects of aged human cartilage and found that resveratrol and curcumin are effective anti-AGE therapeutics with the potential to decelerate age-related and diabetes-induced OA. This in vitro nonenzymatic glycation-induced model provides a tool for screening OA drugs, to simultaneously evaluate AGE-induced biological and mechanical changes.

The images used here come from Mehta and Young et al., (2021) Cartilage 13(2_suppl):1214S-1228S

Personalized Radiation
Attenuating Materials

Introduction

Cancer patients undergoing therapeutic radiation routinely develop injury of the adjacent gastrointestinal (GI) tract mucosa due to treatment. It is estimated that radiation‐induced GI toxicities occur in over 200 000 patients in the United States every year. This normal tissue injury may lead to severe morbidity and, ultimately, treatment breaks or discontinuation that adversely impact tumor cure rates. Currently, attempts to reduce radiation‐induced side effects such as physical spacers, shielding, and treatments for radiation‐induced mucositis have many limitations in protecting normal tissues, including concerns regarding diminishing intended tumor treatment, dependency on user experience, and additional side effects. New methods for radiation protection are needed to reduce morbidity.

Clinical workflow for integrating personalized radioprotectant devices in radiation treatments

Methods

Cancer staging scans are routinely used for radiation treatment planning and can be easily integrated into device development. Using 3D slicer, a computer-aided design (CAD) software for visualization of medical images, I contoured the organs at-risk for radiation-induced damage on patient diagnostic CT scans. Then, I generated the contours into 3D models, and produced patient-specific devices in Solidworks, a CAD software used for design and manufacturing, to fit these models. For the esophagus and rectum, I customized a balloon catheter, while to protect the buccal mucosa, a mouthguard was designed. Each of these devices were 3D printed according to the patient-specific dimensions determined by this clinical workflow. To confer radioprotection, the balloon catheters were filled with a radiation attenuating material, but for the mouthguard, this agent was incorporated directly into the device during printing.

Personalized 3D‐printed devices used for radioprotection of various anatomical sites at high risk for radiation toxicity

Results

In a radiation proctitis rat model, a significant reduction in crypt injury is demonstrated with the device compared to without (p < 0.0087). Optimal device placement for radiation attenuation is further confirmed in a swine model. Dosimetric modeling in oral cavity cancer patients demonstrates a 30% radiation dose reduction to the normal buccal mucosa and a 15.2% dose reduction in the rectum for prostate cancer patients with the radioprotectant material in place compared to without. Finally, it is found that the rectal radioprotectant device is more cost‐effective compared to a hydrogel rectal spacer.

Positioning of intra‐oral, esophageal, and rectal radioprotectant devices in swine

Conclusion

These data suggest personalized 3D‐printed radioprotectant devices may have great potential to reduce radiation toxicity in clinical settings where radiation is used, including neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy, curative treatment, and palliative treatments. This personalized approach could be applicable to a variety of cancers that respond to radiation therapy, including head and neck, lung, prostate, anal, skin, and gynecological cancers, sarcomas, and lymphomas.

The images used here come from Byrne et al., (2021) Adv Science 8(12):2100510

This Section Is
Under Construction

Elements

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