Department of Medical Oncology, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, London, UK.
Target Oncol. 2009 Sep;4(3):151-68. doi: 10.1007/s11523-009-0117-x. Epub 2009 Sep 21.
Imaging of biological processes using specific molecular probes allows exploration of the mechanism of action and efficacy for new therapies. This molecular imaging has made use of modalities including single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and optical techniques. Molecular imaging can be used to explore many of the hallmarks of cancer biology, including angiogenesis, proliferation, tissue invasion, evasion of apoptosis, and self-sufficiency in growth signals. Since many of these aspects of cancer biology are in turn the targets of novel therapies in development, molecular imaging techniques have great potential to inform trials of these new agents. The high cost of clinical drug development mandates the optimisation of early phase trial design to maximise the collection of evidence for efficacy and proof of mechanism, endpoints which have, in a number of examples, already been provided by molecular imaging. The variety provided by novel chemistry, and the availability of isotopes with varying physical properties, particularly suits PET imaging as a functional modality for application in clinical trials.
利用特定的分子探针进行生物过程成像，可以探索新疗法的作用机制和疗效。这种分子成像已经利用了包括单光子发射计算机断层扫描（SPECT）、正电子发射断层扫描（PET）、磁共振成像（MRI）和光学技术在内的多种模式。分子成像可用于探索癌症生物学的许多特征，包括血管生成、增殖、组织侵袭、细胞凋亡逃逸和生长信号自给自足。由于癌症生物学的许多这些方面又是开发中新型疗法的靶点，因此分子成像技术具有为这些新药物的临床试验提供信息的巨大潜力。临床药物开发的高成本要求优化早期试验设计，以最大限度地收集疗效和机制证据，在许多情况下，分子成像已经提供了这些证据。新型化学物质的多样性以及具有不同物理特性的同位素的可用性，特别适合 PET 成像作为应用于临床试验的功能模式。
