Molecular imaging of breast cancer: present and future directions.

David Alcantara,Maria L Garcã­A-Martã­N,Irene Garcã­A-Bocanegra,Manuel Pernia Leal

doi:10.3389/fchem.2014.00112

Abstract

Medical imaging technologies have undergone explosive growth over the past few decades and now play a central role in clinical oncology. But the truly transformative power of imaging in the clinical management of cancer patients lies ahead. Today, imaging is at a crossroads, with molecularly targeted imaging agents expected to broadly expand the capabilities of conventional anatomical imaging methods. Molecular imaging will allow clinicians to not only see where a tumor is located in the body, but also to visualize the expression and activity of specific molecules (e.g., proteases and protein kinases) and biological processes (e.g., apoptosis, angiogenesis, and metastasis) that influence tumor behavior and/or response to therapy. Breast cancer, the most common cancer among women and a research area where our group is actively involved, is a very heterogeneous disease with diverse patterns of development and response to treatment. Hence, molecular imaging is expected to have a major impact on this type of cancer, leading to important improvements in diagnosis, individualized treatment, and drug development, as well as our understanding of how breast cancer arises.

Highlights

Modern clinical cancer treatments require precise positional information
Molecular imaging is expected to have a major impact on this type of cancer, leading to important improvements in diagnosis, individualized treatment, and drug development, as well as our understanding of how breast cancer arises
Where is the tumor located? How large is it? Is it confined, or has it spread to the lymph nodes? Does it involve any critical anatomical structures that would alter the treatment strategy? These questions are being answered, at ever-increasing spatial resolution, through the application of traditional anatomical imaging methods such as computed xray tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound (US)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

These questions are being answered, at ever-increasing spatial resolution, through the application of traditional anatomical imaging methods such as computed xray tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound (US). These methods still represent the mainstay of clinical imaging, it has become clear that the acquisition of molecular and physiological information by nuclear magnetic resonance and optical imaging technologies could vastly enhance our ability to fight cancer (Weissleder, 2006). IMAGING TECHNIQUES FOR BREAST CANCER Mammography and ultrasound are the most common methods used for diagnosis and guided intervention in breast disease. The implementation of BIRADS has allowed us to www.frontiersin.org

Molecular imaging of breast cancer

Findings

CONCLUSIONS