Abstract
Despite the variety of approaches that have been improved to achieve a good understanding of pancreatic cancer (PC), the prognosis of PC remains poor, and the survival rates are dismal. The lack of early detection and effective interventions is the main reason. Therefore, considerable ongoing efforts aimed at identifying early PC are currently being pursued using a variety of methods. In recent years, the development of molecular imaging has made the specific targeting of PC in the early stage possible. Molecular imaging seeks to directly visualize, characterize, and measure biological processes at the molecular and cellular levels. Among different imaging technologies, the magnetic resonance (MR) molecular imaging has potential in this regard because it facilitates noninvasive, target-specific imaging of PC. This topic is reviewed in terms of the contrast agents for MR molecular imaging, the biomarkers related to PC, targeted molecular probes for MRI, and the application of MRI in the diagnosis of PC.
Highlights
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a serious threat to human health, due to malignant tumors with concealed onset, rapid development, and poor prognosis
The results indicated that the CXCR-4-USPIO group exhibited lower T2 values compared with the BSA-USPIO group and exhibited a high affinity with the PC cells according to the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging
In an in vivo experiment, after the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of human pancreatic cancer orthotopically implanted into the pancreas of nude mice, it was shown that the ScFvEGFR-iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles selectively accumulated within the pancreatic tumors in T2-weighted fast spin echo imaging, as evidenced by a decrease in the MRI signal in the area of the tumor
Summary
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a serious threat to human health, due to malignant tumors with concealed onset, rapid development, and poor prognosis. PC is the fourth leading cause of death among all cancers in the USA, with a dismal 5year survival rate of less than 5% [1] These dismal outcomes can be attributed to the lack of early diagnoses and the inability to detect precancerous lesions [2]. In contrast with traditional imaging techniques that are primarily based on gross anatomy structures, molecular imaging can identify pathological changes at the molecular and cellular level, determine the qualitative properties of the diseases, enable objective monitoring of the efficacy of treatment, and predict disease development. The present study reviews the contrast agents for MR molecular imaging, related biomarkers for PC, targeted molecular probes for MRI, and their applications in the diagnosis of PC
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