Dr. Brian Nahed | Blood Based Test for Brain Tumors

Mission

The MGH Blood Based Biomarker lab is focused on developing the first blood based test for patients with brain tumors.

Advances in neurosurgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy have led to exciting breakthroughs in the care of patients however, there remains no real-time test to monitor a patient’s response to therapy and detecting recurrence of disease is limited to MRIs. Our laboratory strives to offer patients and their physicians a simple blood test which will provide the ability to diagnose and monitor brain tumors in real-time. Using technology developed at the MGH Cancer Center, Drs. Brian Nahed and Shannon Stott have developed the first device to identify and analyze circulating tumor cells in brain tumor patients and extra-cellular vesicles (exosomes). Together, Nahed and Stott are developing the only comprehensive blood based test to diagnose, characterize, and monitor patients with brain tumors.

Dr. Brian Nahed is a neurosurgeon specializing in brain tumors with a specific focus on gliomas (low and high grade), glioblastoma, meningiomas and metastatic cancers.

Dr. Shannon Stott is a biomedical engineer specializing in the development of blood based captured devices and the identification and capture of circulating tumor cells and extra-cellular vesicles in cancer.

Intraoperative imaging

Using sophisticated MRI-based diffusion tensor imaging, Dr. Brian Nahed and his colleagues study subcortical fibers tracts to plan a surgical approach, which is stimulated intraoperatively to confirm avoidance of the tracts and to test and preserve function. Dr. Nahed uses multi-modality intraoperative imaging and intraoperative brain mapping including intraoperative ultrasound to detect extent of resection of infiltrative brain tumors, and intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging to accurately detect extent of resection in real-time using the ultrasound.

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Precision surgery

Using sophisticated MRI-based diffusion tensor imaging, Dr. Brian Nahed and his colleagues study subcortical fibers tracts to plan a surgical approach, which is stimulated intraoperatively to confirm avoidance of the tracts and to test and preserve function.

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Research

As a surgeon-scientist, Dr. Brian Nahed’s research aims to develop the first blood-based test to diagnose and monitor brain tumor patients.

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Research

Blood Based Test for Brain Tumors

Drs. Brian Nahed and Shannon Stott, together with a team comprised of biomedical engineers, cancer biologists, and clinicians, are working to develop the first blood based test for patients with brain tumors. Their recent success in capturing circulating tumor cells and exosomes in brain tumor patients serves as the catalyst for their combined effort to develop a comprehensive blood based tests for brain tumors. Nahed and Stott are currently enrolling patients into their translational research study at the MGH.

Publications

Dr. Brian Nahed has authored 104 peer-reviewed publications. A complete list of all his publications can be found on PubMed. He has presented his work at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Society for Neurooncology, and Council for State Neurosurgical Societies.

For a complete list please visit PubMed.

Recent publications from the Nahed / Stott laboratory

Zaki, MM, Mashouf, LA, Woodward, E, Langat, P, Gupta, S, Dunn, IF et al.. Genomic landscape of gliosarcoma: distinguishing features and targetable alterations. Sci Rep. 2021;11 (1):18009. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-97454-6. PubMed PMID:34504233 PubMed Central PMC8429571

Yang, JC, Paulk, AC, Salami, P, Lee, SH, Ganji, M, Soper, DJ et al.. Microscale dynamics of electrophysiological markers of epilepsy. Clin Neurophysiol. 2021; :. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2021.06.024. PubMed PMID:34419344

Rolle, ML, Garba, DL, Kerry, VB, Nahed, BV. Commentary: The Importance of Increased Funding Opportunities to Empower Global Neurosurgeons From Low-Middle Income Countries. Neurosurgery. 2021;89 (4):E235-E236. doi: 10.1093/neuros/nyab277. PubMed PMID:34333647

Khalafallah, AM, Rakovec, M, Bettegowda, C, Jackson, CM, Gallia, GL, Weingart, JD et al.. A Crowdsourced Consensus on Supratotal Resection Versus Gross Total Resection for Anatomically Distinct Primary Glioblastoma. Neurosurgery. 2021;89 (4):712-719. doi: 10.1093/neuros/nyab257. PubMed PMID:34320218 PubMed Central PMC8440068

Gerritsen, JKW, Dirven, CMF, De Vleeschouwer, S, Schucht, P, Jungk, C, Krieg, SM et al.. The PROGRAM study: awake mapping versus asleep mapping versus no mapping for high-grade glioma resections: study protocol for an international multicenter prospective three-arm cohort study. BMJ Open. 2021;11 (7):e047306. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047306. PubMed PMID:34290067 PubMed Central PMC8296818

Cohen, AB, Nahed, BV. The Digital Neurologic Examination. Digit Biomark. ;5 (1):114-126. doi: 10.1159/000515577. PubMed PMID:34056521 PubMed Central PMC8138139