Recent advances in different modal imaging-guided photothermal therapy

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Oncology

Background:

• Photothermal therapy (PTT) shows promise for cancer treatment due to its controllable nature, high efficiency, and minimal side effects.
• Current PTT limitations include poor visualization of agent delivery, internalization, and therapeutic outcome evaluation.
• Advancements in nanoplatforms are addressing these limitations, enhancing PTT's clinical applicability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent developments in imaging-guided photothermal therapy.
• To explore multi-modal imaging-guided PTT and theranostic nanoplatforms.
• To highlight the potential of integrated imaging and PTT for enhanced cancer treatment.

Main Methods:

• Review of single-modal, dual-modal, triple-modal, and multi-modal imaging techniques applied to PTT.
• Analysis of theranostic nanoplatforms integrating imaging and therapeutic functions.
• Synthesis of in vitro and in vivo study findings on imaging-guided PTT.

Main Results:

• Imaging guidance significantly improves the visualization of PTT agent delivery and internalization.
• Multi-modal imaging approaches offer comprehensive evaluation of therapeutic outcomes.
• Developed nanoplatforms successfully integrate therapeutic and diagnostic capabilities for PTT.

Conclusions:

• Imaging-guided PTT, especially with advanced nanoplatforms, overcomes major limitations of conventional PTT.
• Multi-modal imaging-guided PTT represents a promising strategy for precise and effective cancer therapy.
• Further development of theranostic nanoplatforms will accelerate the clinical translation of PTT.