Molecular imaging to support cancer immunotherapy

Abstract

The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors has reinvigorated the field of immuno-oncology. These monoclonal antibody-based therapies allow the immune system to recognize and eliminate malignant cells. This has resulted in improved survival of patients across several tumor types. However, not all patients respond to immunotherapy therefore predictive biomarkers are important. There are only a few Food and Drug Administration-approved biomarkers to select patients for immunotherapy. These biomarkers do not consider the heterogeneity of tumor characteristics across lesions within a patient. New molecular imaging tracers allow for whole-body visualization with positron emission tomography (PET) of tumor and immune cell characteristics, and drug distribution, which might guide treatment decision making. Here, we summarize recent developments in molecular imaging of immune checkpoint molecules, such as PD-L1, PD-1, CTLA-4, and LAG-3. We discuss several molecular imaging approaches of immune cell subsets and briefly summarize the role of FDG-PET for evaluating cancer immunotherapy. The main focus is on developments in clinical molecular imaging studies, next to preclinical studies of interest given their potential translation to the clinic.

Construction and Preclinical Evaluation of 124I/125I-Labeled Antibody Targeting T Cell Immunoglobulin and Mucin Domain-3

“…Many other immune checkpoint molecules are currently being studied to enhance and optimize ICI treatment regimens. Recently, the lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG3)-targeted antibody relatlimab received approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), CD4, CD47, etc., are being developed preclinically and may also prove valuable in future cancer immunotherapy applications . Given the complex mechanisms of the immune response, it is foreseeable that an increasing number of biomarkers will be used to predict the tumor response to ICIs.…”

Engineering molecular nanoprobes to target early atherosclerosis: Precise diagnostic tools and promising therapeutic carriers

“…With regard to the application of nanoprobes in targeting plaques, we would like to start with the contribution of molecular imaging in this context. As a non-invasive strategy, molecular imaging mainly targets specific molecules on the tissue and cell levels, and especially shows their changes in the pathological states, in order to have an in-depth understanding of the disease mechanisms, develop new pharmacological targets, and provide novel drug candidates [30,31]. Given the fact that it is an interdisciplinary subject, molecular imaging indeed involves many different subjects including medicine, radiology, biology, materials science, mathematics, and chemistry [32][33][34].…”

Visualization of therapeutic intervention for acute liver injury using low-intensity pulsed ultrasound-responsive phase variant nanoparticles

“…25 The molecular imaging monitoring and synergistic technology produced by the cross-fusion of medical imaging technology and modern molecular biology is the focus and hot spot in the field of medical imaging research. Molecular imaging technology relies on the use of a molecular probe platform, 26,27 which can bind specifically to the target tissue and generate imaging signals. It is expected to solve many problems in the study of acute liver injury.…”