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Harnessing Preclinical Molecular Imaging to Inform Advances in Personalized Cancer Medicine
Peter M Clark1,2, Victoria A Ebiana3, Laura Gosa1,4
1Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California.
Abstract:
Comprehensive molecular analysis of individual tumors provides great potential for personalized cancer therapy. However, the presence of a particular genetic alteration is often insufficient to predict therapeutic efficacy. Drugs with distinct mechanisms of action can affect the biology of tumors in specific and unique ways. Therefore, assays that can measure drug-induced perturbations of defined functional tumor properties can be highly complementary to genomic analysis. PET provides the capacity to noninvasively measure the dynamics of various tumor biologic processes in vivo. Here, we review the underlying biochemical and biologic basis for a variety of PET tracers and how they may be used to better optimize cancer therapy.
Insights
Molecular analysis guides personalized cancer therapy, but functional assays are needed to predict drug efficacy. Positron emission tomography (PET) offers noninvasive in vivo measurement of tumor biology to optimize treatment strategies.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Genomic analysis of tumors is crucial for personalized cancer therapy.
- Genetic alterations alone are often insufficient to predict treatment response.
- Understanding drug-induced biological changes in tumors is essential for optimizing therapy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the biochemical and biologic basis of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) tracers.
- To explore how PET tracers can be utilized to optimize cancer therapy.
- To highlight the complementary role of functional assays alongside genomic analysis.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on PET tracers and their applications in oncology.
- Analysis of the biochemical and biologic principles underlying PET imaging.
- Discussion of how PET can measure drug-induced perturbations in tumor function.
Main Results:
- PET enables noninvasive, in vivo measurement of dynamic tumor biologic processes.
- Various PET tracers can assess specific functional tumor properties.
- PET imaging provides complementary data to genomic analysis for treatment optimization.
Conclusions:
- PET imaging is a valuable tool for assessing tumor biology and drug response.
- Integrating PET with genomic analysis can enhance personalized cancer therapy.
- PET tracers offer a promising approach to optimize treatment strategies and predict therapeutic efficacy.