Department of Radiology, Northwestern University, 303 East Chicago Avenue, Tarry 16-703, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
Nat Rev Urol. 2010 Feb;7(2):84-93. doi: 10.1038/nrurol.2009.254. Epub 2010 Jan 19.
Nanotechnology is poised to have a substantial influence on biomedicine. A unique example of a nanotechnology that has progressed from proof-of-concept to human clinical trials is the use of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as a cell-specific contrast agent for MRI. When injected systemically, these particles are taken up by macrophages of the reticuloendothelial system and accumulate in lymph nodes. This passive, cell-specific targeting of the iron oxide nanoparticles to lymph nodes, and the differential cellular content of benign versus malignantly infiltrated nodes make this method suitable for cancer staging. By using lymphotropic nanoparticle enhanced MRI, differences in benign versus malignant infiltration of lymph nodes can be visualized, which adds accuracy to standard MRI beyond criteria based solely upon the size and shape of lymph nodes. This technology has been used to assess lymph node metastases in a large number of human cancer types. In this Review, we focus on lymphotropic nanoparticle enhanced MRI and its application for the staging of genitourinary malignancies.
纳米技术有望对生物医学产生重大影响。一个从概念验证到人体临床试验的纳米技术的独特例子是使用超小超顺磁性氧化铁纳米颗粒作为 MRI 的细胞特异性对比剂。当全身注射时，这些颗粒被网状内皮系统的巨噬细胞摄取并在淋巴结中积累。这种氧化铁纳米颗粒被动地、特异性地靶向淋巴结，以及良性和恶性浸润淋巴结之间的细胞内容物的差异，使得这种方法适合癌症分期。通过使用淋巴靶向纳米颗粒增强 MRI，可以可视化淋巴结良性与恶性浸润的差异，这在标准 MRI 的基础上增加了准确性，而不仅仅是基于淋巴结的大小和形状。这项技术已被用于评估许多人类癌症类型的淋巴结转移。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍了淋巴靶向纳米颗粒增强 MRI 及其在泌尿生殖系统恶性肿瘤分期中的应用。
