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Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Monitoring Functionality and Morphology of Vasculature Recruited by Factors Secreted by Fast-growing Tumor-generating Cells
Published on: November 23, 2014
Imaging angiogenesis: applications and potential for drug development
Janet C Miller1, Homer H Pien, Dushyant Sahani
1Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 100 Charles River Plaza, Boston, MA 02114, USA. jcmiller@partners.org
Abstract:
Recognition of the importance of angiogenesis to tumor growth and metastasis has led to efforts to develop new drugs that are targeted to angiogenic vasculature. Clinical trials of these agents are challenging, both because there is no agreed upon method of establishing the correct dosage for drugs whose mechanism of action is not primarily cytotoxic and because of the long time it takes to determine whether such drugs have a clinical effect. Therefore, there is a need for rapid and effective biomarkers to establish drug dosage and monitor clinical response. This review addresses the potential of imaging as a way to accurately and reliably assess changes in angiogenic vasculature in response to therapy. We describe the advantages and disadvantages of several imaging modalities, including positron emission tomography, x-ray computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, and optical imaging, for imaging angiogenic vasculature. We also discuss the analytic methods used to derive blood flow, blood volume, empirical semiquantitative hemodynamic parameters, and quantitative hemodynamic parameters from pharmacokinetic modeling. We examine the validity of these methods, citing studies that test correlations between data derived from imaging and data derived from other established methods, their reproducibility, and correlations between imaging-derived hemodynamic parameters and other pathologic indicators, such as microvessel density, pathology score, and disease outcome. Finally, we discuss which imaging methods are most likely to have the sensitivity and reliability required for monitoring responses to cancer therapy and describe ways in which imaging has been used in clinical trials to date.
Insights
Imaging techniques offer a promising solution for accurately measuring anti-angiogenic drug effectiveness in cancer therapy. These biomarkers can help establish correct drug dosages and monitor treatment response efficiently.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Medical Imaging
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Tumor growth and metastasis are critically dependent on angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation).
- Targeting angiogenic vasculature with novel drugs is a key strategy in cancer therapy.
- Clinical trials for anti-angiogenic agents face challenges in dosage determination and response assessment due to non-cytotoxic mechanisms and long evaluation times.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the potential of various imaging modalities as biomarkers for assessing anti-angiogenic therapy response.
- To evaluate the utility of imaging in establishing drug dosage and monitoring clinical effects in cancer patients.
Main Methods:
- Review of multiple imaging modalities: positron emission tomography (PET), x-ray computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, and optical imaging.
- Analysis of methods for deriving hemodynamic parameters (blood flow, blood volume) using pharmacokinetic modeling.
- Examination of imaging data validity through correlations with established methods (e.g., microvessel density, pathology scores) and assessment of reproducibility.
Main Results:
- Discusses advantages and disadvantages of different imaging techniques for visualizing angiogenic vasculature.
- Evaluates analytic methods for quantifying hemodynamic changes in response to therapy.
- Presents evidence on the reliability and correlation of imaging-derived parameters with clinical outcomes and pathological indicators.
Conclusions:
- Imaging holds significant potential for reliable and sensitive monitoring of anti-angiogenic cancer therapy.
- Specific imaging methods are identified as most suitable for clinical trials and therapeutic response assessment.
- The review highlights the application of imaging in ongoing and past clinical trials for anti-angiogenic drugs.
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01:24Regulation of Angiogenesis and Blood Supply
01:19Imaging Studies VII: Vascular Imaging