Molecular endoscopic imaging in cancer

Abstract

Cancer is one of the major causes of death in both the USA and Europe. Molecular imaging is a novel field that is revolutionizing cancer management. It is based on the molecular signature of cells in order to study the human body both in normal and diseased conditions. The emergence of molecular imaging has been driven by the difficulties associated with cancer detection, particularly early-stage premalignant lesions which are often unnoticed as a result of minimal or no structural changes. Endoscopic surveillance is the standard method for early-stage cancer detection. In addition to recent major advancements in endoscopic instruments, significant progress has been achieved in the exploration of highly specific molecular probes and the combination of both will permit significant improvement of patient care. In this review, we provide an outline of the current status of endoscopic imaging and focus on recent applications of molecular imaging in gastrointestinal, hepatic and other cancers in the context of detection, targeted therapy and personalized medicine. As new imaging agents have the potential to broadly expand our cancer diagnostic capability, we will also present an overview of the main types of optical molecular probes with their pros and cons. We conclude by discussing the challenges and future prospects of the field.

Molecular endoscopic imaging: the future is bright

“…While each type of agent has a different size range, in this review, the pharmacokinetic and binding properties, and their advantages and disadvantages, will not be discussed in detail because a detailed description of the widely used exogenous targeting agents has been provided in our previous review. 8 The probes can be labeled with a variety of fluorophores. Most of the current imaging devices are restricted within the range of 480-520 nm.…”

“…Thus, physicians require specialized instrumentation and imaging agents to visualize specific cellular markers. 8 The molecular imaging system can be elegantly assigned two roles in clinical applications. 9 The first role is diagnostic imaging, which is used to localize the targeted molecules of a specific disease.…”

“…Thus, physicians require specialized instrumentation and imaging agents to visualize specific cellular markers. 8…”

Molecular endoscopic imaging for the detection of Barrett’s metaplasia using biodegradable inorganic nanoparticles: An ex-vivo pilot study on human tissue

“…Barrett's esophagus (BE) is the precursor of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and considered the eighth most common cancer in the world [1]. Molecular endoscopic imaging (MEI) has the potential to visualize disease-specific molecular alterations in BE [2]. Imaging agents that are specific for overexpressed molecular targets can play a significant role in early-stage diagnosis and overall management of the disease.…”

Diagnóstico de carcinoma superficial esofágico de células escamosas em pacientes com câncer de cabeça e pescoço com auxílio da endomicroscopia confocal

“…A utilização da imaginologia molecular na endomicroscopia confocal (molecular confocal laser endomicroscopy, ou mCLE) é campo inovador que está revolucionando estratégias de condutas na oncologia. Baseia-se na assinatura molecular das células, com finalidade de estudar o corpo humano tanto em condições normais, quanto na doença 76 . Seu surgimento foi impulsionado pelas dificuldades associadas à detecção do câncer, particularmente das lesões pré-malignas em estádios precoces, quando os pacientes são assintomáticos e os achados endoscópicos à LB apresentam alterações mínimas ou nulas da mucosa, já mencionadas anteriormente.…”