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Updated: Jul 15, 2025
Computed Tomography-guided Time-domain Diffuse Fluorescence Tomography in Small Animals for Localization of Cancer Biomarkers
Published on: July 17, 2012
Activatable probes with potential for intraoperative tumor-specific fluorescence-imaging guided surgery
Mingzhu Wu1, Deyan Gong2, Yuanyuan Zhou1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital of Fudan University Anhui Hospital, Children's Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230051, P. R. China. xxp682@163.com.
Activatable fluorescent probes enable enhanced tumor detection during surgery. These probes offer improved accuracy for early cancer diagnosis and personalized treatment strategies, ultimately improving patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Medical Imaging
- Oncology
Background:
- Increasing cancer incidence due to aging populations necessitates improved early detection and surgical techniques.
- Current tumor detection methods often fail to identify small or subtle tumors, leading to incomplete resection.
- Fluorescence imaging using tumor-specific probes offers a promising approach to enhance surgical navigation and accuracy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the design principles and mechanisms of activatable fluorescence probes for tumor imaging.
- To explore the development and application of single- and dual-factor activatable probes in cancer diagnostics.
- To highlight the potential of these probes in advancing precision medicine and targeted cancer therapy.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature on activatable fluorescence probes for tumor imaging.
- Discussion of probe activation mechanisms based on tumor-specific substrates (enzymes, molecules) or microenvironment (pH).
- Analysis of single-factor versus two-factor activatable probes for improved specificity and accuracy.
Main Results:
- Activatable probes are designed to be nonfluorescent in normal tissues and fluorescent upon encountering tumor-specific signals.
- Two-factor activatable probes offer enhanced specificity by responding to multiple tumor biomarkers or microenvironmental changes.
- Simultaneous monitoring of multiple biomarkers can improve early cancer diagnosis accuracy compared to single biomarker tests.
Conclusions:
- Activatable fluorescence imaging probes represent a significant advancement in surgical navigation and early cancer detection.
- The development of these probes supports precision medicine by enabling targeted therapy and improving patient prognosis.
- Further research in this area holds promise for enhancing the quality of life for cancer patients through better diagnosis and treatment.
