Axel Schonthal, PhD

Photo of Axel Schonthal, PhD
Title(s)Associate Professor of Immunology and Immune Therapeutics
SchoolKeck School of Medicine of Usc
AddressHMR 405A 2011 Zonal Avenue
Health Sciences Campus
Los Angeles CA 90089
Phone+1 323 442 1730
ORCID ORCID Icon0000-0003-0662-5653 Additional info
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    The Schönthal lab performs preclinical cancer research and pursues anticancer drug development. The main focus is on brain malignancies, which include primary brain cancers (such as glioblastoma) and secondary brain cancers (such as melanoma or breast cancer that has spread to the brain). The work is done in collaboration with Dr. Thomas Chen, a neurosurgeon and Director of the USC Brain Tumor Group. This joint approach supports interdisciplinary efforts that translate laboratory findings to patient applications.

    Collapse Biography 
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    University of Karlsruhe, GermanyPhDMolecular Biology
    UC San Diego, San Diego, CAPostdocCancer Biology

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    Completed SC CTSI Mentor Training: Yes

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.
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    Altmetrics Details PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Protocol for a pilot-randomized trial in newly diagnosed glioblastoma: standard care with or without daily intranasal perillyl alcohol. Future Oncol. 2026 May; 22(11):1263-1271. de Lima DC, Schönthal AH, da Fonseca COP, Reis F, Lima CSP, Foglio MA. PMID: 42015796; PMCID: PMC13154941.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    2. Safety and functional evaluation of a synthetic lamina cover that replaces lost autologous spinal bone after laminectomy, in a sheep and human study. N Am Spine Soc J. 2025 Dec; 24:100795. Chen CK, Chiang MF, Yao YC, Chang MC, Schönthal AH, Chen TC. PMID: 41210162; PMCID: PMC12590038.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    3. International guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of NUT carcinoma. Innovation (Camb). 2026 Jan 05; 7(1):101068. Zhang Y, Zhang Q, Hao Y, Luo J, Piao Y, Wang W, Song Z, Li Z, Brcic L, Liu A, Yu J, Tsutani Y, Zhong W, Fang W, Wang Z, Ren S, Papavassiliou AG, Zhang Y, Liu J, Zhang S, Cai X, Cangir AK, Liu A, Li W, Lococo F, Zhan P, Liu H, Lv T, Miao L, Min L, Popper H, Chen Y, Yuan J, Wang F, Jiang Z, Lin G, Huang L, Pu X, Lin R, Kairemo K, Liu W, Rao C, Lv D, Yu Z, Leanne A, Li X, Tang C, Siddique HR, Zhou C, Zhang J, Xue J, Shelat V, Guo H, Chu Q, Meng R, Ardeshir F, Wu J, Zhang R, Zhou J, Kratzke RA, Zhu Z, Li Y, Qiu H, Xia F, Calabrese F, Xia Y, Mariani AW, Lu Y, Chen X, Klein MA, Ge R, Dai E, Schönthal AH, Han Y, Guo Z, Zhang J, Ji Y, Liang X, Zhang H, Ma X, Chiappetta M, Liu X, Salle FG, Yao Y, Szolkowska M, Pan W, Pang F, Wu F, Watzka SB, Wang L, Zhu Y, Lin L, Sharma A, Tu J, Lin X, Cai J, Xu L, Li J, Jiao X, Li K, Zauderer MG, Wei J, Feng H, Wang L, Du Y, Yao W, Dudnik E, Shi X, Niu X, Yuan D, Yao Y, Huang J, Feng Y, Zhang Y, Song B, Li W, Fu J, Baine MK, Sun P, Wang H, Ye M, Wang D, Wang Z, Wu J, Yang Y, Fang Y, Wang Z, Wan B, Lv D, Chen H, Yang S, Kang J, Zhang J, Zhang C, Shi L, Wang Y, Sobeih ME, Li B, Lian B, Mao L, Zhang Z, Wang K, Li Z, Liu Z, Yang N, Wu L, Chen X, Jin G, Li M, Wang G, Marron TU, Wang J, Popat S, Fang M, Fang Y, Mansilla D, Li Y, Wang X, Chen J, Zhang Y, Zhu X, Shen Y, Ma S, Mansfield AS, Wang B, Si L, Roden AC, Grønberg BH, Song Y, Shapiro GI, French CA, Lu Y, Wang Q, Xu C. PMID: 41737331; PMCID: PMC12925906.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    4. Potent Therapeutic Activity of NEO212 in Preclinical Models of Human and Canine Leukaemia and Lymphoma. Vet Comp Oncol. 2025 Sep; 23(3):412-423. Chen TC, Swenson S, Thein TZ, Minea RO, Schönthal AH. PMID: 40377133; PMCID: PMC12378078.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    5. Patient with recurrent grade 4 astrocytoma responding favorably to intranasal delivery of NEO100, highly pure perillyl alcohol: illustrative case. J Neurosurg Case Lessons. 2025 Mar 17; 9(11). Schönthal AH, Swenson S, Senecal FM, Mittenzwei R, Go JL, Chen TC. PMID: 40096739; PMCID: PMC11912927.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    6. Bringing intranasal drug delivery for malignancies in the brain to market. Expert Opin Drug Deliv. 2025 Mar; 22(3):311-314. Chen TC, da Fonseca CO, Schönthal AH. PMID: 39917831.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    
    7. In Reply: Application and Safety of Externally Controlled Metronomic Drug Delivery to the Brain by an Implantable Smart Pump in a Sheep Model. Neurosurgery. 2025 Feb 01; 96(2):e34. Chen TC, Schönthal AH. PMID: 39812481.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    8. Characterization of cerebrospinal fluid markers as indicators of spinal cord ischemia following an endovascular aortic aneurysm repair procedure. J Neurosurg. 2025 04 01; 142(4):993-1002. Danilov CA, Yu JYH, Gong M, Han SM, Fleischman F, Magee GA, Weaver F, Schönthal AH, Chen TC. PMID: 39486078.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    9. Application and Safety of Externally Controlled Metronomic Drug Delivery to the Brain by an Implantable Smart Pump in a Sheep Model. Neurosurgery. 2025 Feb 01; 96(2):471-478. Chen TC, Wu WH, Chang KE, Schönthal AH, Gang ES, Indravudh V, Lobl T, Adell F, Shachar Y. PMID: 39240099; PMCID: PMC11698269.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    10. Discovery of Cell Number-Interstitial Fluid Volume (CIF) Ratio Reveals Secretory Autophagy Pathway to Supply eHsp90α for Wound Healing. Cells. 2024 07 30; 13(15). Chang C, Tang X, Schönthal AH, Chen M, Woodley DT, Wang Y, Liang C, Li W. PMID: 39120311; PMCID: PMC11312289.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    11. Therapeutic effect of NEO400, perillyl alcohol conjugated to linoleic acid, in a mouse model of UV-induced skin damage. Photochem Photobiol. 2025 Mar-Apr; 101(2):338-349. Swenson S, Silva-Hirschberg C, Freeland L, Chen KL, Marín-Ramos NI, Schönthal AH, Chen TC. PMID: 38970228; PMCID: PMC11913761.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    12. NEO212, temozolomide conjugated to NEO100, exerts superior therapeutic activity over temozolomide in preclinical chemoradiation models of glioblastoma. Neurooncol Adv. 2024 Jan-Dec; 6(1):vdae095. Minea RO, Thein TZ, Yang Z, Campan M, Ward PM, Schönthal AH, Chen TC. PMID: 39022643; PMCID: PMC11252566.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4  
    13. Activation of Epstein-Barr Virus' Lytic Cycle in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells by NEO212, a Conjugate of Perillyl Alcohol and Temozolomide. Cancers (Basel). 2024 Feb 26; 16(5). Hartman-Houstman H, Swenson S, Minea RO, Sinha UK, Chiang MF, Chen TC, Schönthal AH. PMID: 38473298; PMCID: PMC10931041.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3  
    14. Enhancing brain entry and therapeutic activity of chimeric antigen receptor T cells with intra-arterial NEO100 in a mouse model of CNS lymphoma. J Neurosurg. 2024 06 01; 140(6):1549-1557. Wang W, He H, Zheng L, Zeng S, Cho HY, Kouhi A, Khawli LA, Chen L, Stathopoulos A, Schönthal AH, Epstein AL, Chen TC. PMID: 38157532.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    15. From the groin to the brain: a transfemoral path to blood-brain barrier opening. Oncotarget. 2023 05 04; 14:413-416. Chen TC, Wang W, Schönthal AH. PMID: 37141417; PMCID: PMC10159364.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    16. NEO212, a Perillyl Alcohol-Temozolomide Conjugate, Triggers Macrophage Differentiation of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells and Blocks Their Tumorigenicity. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Dec 09; 14(24). Chen TC, Minea RO, Swenson S, Yang Z, Thein TZ, Schönthal AH. PMID: 36551551; PMCID: PMC9776529.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 8  
    17. Enhanced brain delivery and therapeutic activity of trastuzumab after blood-brain barrier opening by NEO100 in mouse models of brain-metastatic breast cancer. Neuro Oncol. 2021 10 01; 23(10):1656-1667. Wang W, He H, Marín-Ramos NI, Zeng S, Swenson SD, Cho HY, Fu J, Beringer PM, Neman J, Chen L, Schönthal AH, Chen TC. PMID: 33659980; PMCID: PMC8485439.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 19     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    18. Potentially Curative Therapeutic Activity of NEO212, a Perillyl Alcohol-Temozolomide Conjugate, in Preclinical Cytarabine-Resistant Models of Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Jul 06; 13(14). Schönthal AH, Swenson S, Minea RO, Kim HN, Cho H, Mohseni N, Kim YM, Chen TC. PMID: 34298603; PMCID: PMC8305595.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3  
    19. Phase I trial of intranasal NEO100, highly purified perillyl alcohol, in adult patients with recurrent glioblastoma. Neurooncol Adv. 2021 Jan-Dec; 3(1):vdab005. Schönthal AH, Peereboom DM, Wagle N, Lai R, Mathew AJ, Hurth KM, Simmon VF, Howard SP, Taylor LP, Chow F, da Fonseca CO, Chen TC. PMID: 33604574; PMCID: PMC7879254.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 18  
    20. NEO100 enables brain delivery of blood‒brain barrier impermeable therapeutics. Neuro Oncol. 2021 01 30; 23(1):63-75. Wang W, Marín-Ramos NI, He H, Zeng S, Cho HY, Swenson SD, Zheng L, Epstein AL, Schönthal AH, Hofman FM, Chen L, Chen TC. PMID: 32877532; PMCID: PMC7850137.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 23     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
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