Akiva Mintz, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Departments of Neurosurgery
     (Brain Tumor Center of Excellence),
Radiology (Clinical Nuclear Medicine),
Radiation Oncology, Cancer Biology
amintz@wfubmc.edu

     Under the leadership of Dr. Mintz, the goal of the Brain Tumor Center of Excellence (BTCOE) Biomolecular Imaging Laboratory is to utilize multimodality molecular imaging to personalize biomarker targeted therapies by non-invasively detecting and quantifying the targeted tumor biomarkers/pathways. This individualized approach will tailor a therapeutic regiment by determining which and how much targeted therapeutic agent will be effective based on the presence a particular biomarker or dysregulated pathway. The imaging laboratory works in an integrated fashion with the recognized experts of the BTCOE in areas including local drug delivery to brain cancer, molecular targeting, biomarker discovery and therapeutic effects on normal brain.
         One focus of the laboratory involves delivering diagnostic and therapeutic radioisotopes specifically to infiltrating malignant brain tumors but not to the normal brain cells by targeting tumor restricted biomarkers or pathways. Our lead agents target IL13Ra2, a malignant brain tumor restricted biomarker that was discovered by the Debinski laboratory (WFU) to be overexpressed in the vast majority high grade astrocytomas but not in normal brain tissue. We are currently in the process of developing a promising novel tumor-targeted scaffolding that can be used to deliver molecular radiation and immunetherapies to infiltrating tumor cells that are untouched by conventional therapies and responsible for the inevitable tumor recurrence.

Relevant Publications (selected):

Mintz A, et al. Protein and DNA based Active Immunotherapy Targeting Interleukin 13 Receptor alpha 2. Cancer Biotherapy & Radiopharmaceuticals. 2008; 23:581-589

Mintz A, Wang L, Ponde DE. Comparison of Radiolabeled Choline and Ethanolamine as Probes for Cancer Detection. Cancer Biology and Therapy. 2008; 7:1-6

Wang S, Mintz A, Mochizuki K, Dorsey JF, Ackermann JM, Alavi A and El-Deiry WS. Multimodality Optical Imaging and 18F-FDG Uptake in Wild-Type p53-Containing and p53-Null Human Colon cancer cells or Xenografts. Cancer Biology and Therapy. 2007; 31:10 (Cover Image)

Madhankumar AB, Slagle-Webb B, Mintz A, Sheehan JM, Connor RW. Interleukin-13 Receptor Targeted Nanovesicles are a Potential Therapy for Glioblastoma Multiforme. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; 2006 12:3162

Madhankumar AB, Mintz A, Debinski W. Identification of alpha-helix D Mutants of Human Interleukin 13 (IL13) of Higher Affinity Towards Glioma Associated IL13 Receptor alpha-2. Neoplasia; 2004 6: 15-22.

Debinski W, Gibo DM, and Mintz A. Epigenetics in High-grade Astrocytomas: opportunities for Prevention and Detection of Brain Tumors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2003; 983: 232-42.

Mintz A, Madhankumar AB, Gibo DM Debinski W. Effective Molecular Targeting with Cytotoxins of Interleukin-13 Receptor alpha-2-expressing Gliomas. Journal of Neuro-Oncology 2003; 64:117-123.

Madhankumar AB, Mintz A, Debinski W. Alanine-scanning Mutagenesis of alpha-helix D Segment of Interleukin-13 Reveals New Functionally Important Residues of the Cytokine. JBC 2003; 277: 43194-205.

Mintz A, Gibo DM, Webb B, Christensen ND, Debinski W. IL-13Ralpha2 is a Glioma-Restricted Receptor for Interleukin-13. Neoplasia 2002; 4: 388-99.

Mintz A and Debinski W. Cancer Genetics/Epigenetics and the X Chromosome: Possible New Links for Malignant Glioma Pathogenesis and Immune-based Therapies. Critical Reviews in Oncogenesis 2000; 11: 77-95.