Molecular imaging of cell-based cancer immunotherapy

Cell-based cancer immunotherapy represents a new and powerful weapon in the arsenal of anticancer treatments. Non-invasive monitoring of the disposition, migration and destination of therapeutic cells will facilitate the development of cell based therapy. The therapeutic cells can be modified intrinsically by a reporter gene or labeled extrinsically by introducing imaging probes into the cells or on the cell surface before transplant. Various advanced non-invasive molecular imaging techniques are playing important roles in optimizing cellular therapy by tracking cells and monitoring the therapeutic effects of transplanted cells in vivo. This review will summarize the application of multiple molecular imaging modalities in cell-based cancer immunotherapy.