Molecular Imaging Technology And Cancer Treatment

Doctors have made many advances in the use of molecular imaging technology, particularly for in vivo imaging for cancer evaluation. This type of technology allows doctors to study the workings of cancerous growths at both the cellular and sub-cellular levels. The images also assist doctors with the monitoring and treatment of cancer, and have implications for use in many other diseases.

One general use for PET scans is to determine patient prognosis. CD105 is a protein found on the surface of cells, and it is thought to be connected to angiogenesis (blood vessel development) within tumors. Large quantities of CD105 in a tumor tend to indicate poor prognosis, and this knowledge allows doctors to opt for more aggressive treatment, or for palliative care. CD105 is detected by injecting patients with a copper isotope, which bonds to TRC105, and antibody, which then attaches to CD105.

The effective of the cancer metastasis treatment may be monitored with SPECT scans. SPECT scans helped doctors to predict, in cases of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, whether patients would experience survival without relapse. Using their predictions, doctors could decide to go with a less aggressive treatment plan for less severe cases, or with a more aggressive treatment plan for more severe cases.

PET scans have advanced understanding of lung cancer. PET scans are able to identify spots in tumors which have fewer active cancer cells, called “cold spots.” These spots show up as dark places on a scan, and they usually consist of dead tumor cells. The information allows doctors to target only the active parts of the tumor, decreasing damage to healthy tissue, and decreasing associated side effects.

Molecular breast imaging may detect tumors when mammography is ineffective. Sometimes, mammography does not pick up tumors because of scar tissue or implants, even though patients may be able to manually detect the lump. Doctors inject the patient with a radioactive tracer, which is metabolized by cells. Since cancer cells metabolize the substance at a higher rate, the cancer cells distinguish themselves on the scan.

Doctors used a similar technique to breast imaging with ovarian cancers. Just as in breast cancer cells, ovarian cancer cells tend to hypermetabolize the radioactive tracer, which distinguishes them from healthy cells on scans. PET/CT scans found cancer cells in both the ovaries and Fallopian tubes, and predicted malignancy accurately in 84% of cases.

Skin cancer may be detected by ultrasound with elastography. Cancerous lesions tend to be noticeably stiffer than benign growths, so doctors may scan for tissue elasticity using ultrasound with elastography. Additionally, doctors use ultrasound to see the depth and size of all types of skin cancers, which prevents unnecessary biopsies on suspicious but non-cancerous growths.

Molecular imaging technology means imaging in vivo for evaluation of cancer. The technology also has implications for a multitude of other diseases, including heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease. Seeing the disease as it happens, within its biological environment, provides doctors with information about cancer at both the cellular and sub-cellular levels, without the need for invasive exploratory surgeries.

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