Imaging vascular physiology to monitor cancer treatment

The primary physiological function of the vasculature is to support perfusion, the nutritive flow of blood through the tissues. Vascular physiology can be studied non-invasively in human subjects using imaging methods such as positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Critical reviews in oncology/hematology 2006-05, Vol.58 (2), p.95-113
Main Authors: Laking, George R., West, Catharine, Buckley, David L., Matthews, Julian, Price, Patricia M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Angiogenesis
Angiogenesis Inhibitors - therapeutic use
Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use
Biological and medical sciences
Blood Flow Velocity
Clinical Trials as Topic
DCE-MRI
Diagnostic Imaging
Drug Monitoring
Functional imaging
Hematologic and hematopoietic diseases
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Medical sciences
Monitoring, Physiologic - methods
Neoplasms - blood supply
Neoplasms - pathology
Neoplasms - therapy
Neovascularization, Pathologic - diagnosis
Neovascularization, Pathologic - therapy
Perfusion
PET
Positron emission tomography
Reproducibility of Results
Surrogate endpoints
Ultrasonography, Doppler
X-ray computed tomography
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Summary:The primary physiological function of the vasculature is to support perfusion, the nutritive flow of blood through the tissues. Vascular physiology can be studied non-invasively in human subjects using imaging methods such as positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ray computed tomography (CT), and Doppler ultrasound (DU). We describe the physiological rationale for imaging vascular physiology with these methods. We review the published data on repeatability. We review the literature on ‘before-and-after’ studies using these methods to monitor response to treatment in human subjects, in five broad clinical settings: (1) antiangiogenic agents, (2) vascular disruptive agents, (3) conventional cytotoxic drugs, (4) radiation treatment, and (5) agents affecting drug delivery. We argue that imaging of vascular physiology offers an attractive ‘functional endpoint’ for clinical trials of anticancer treatment. More conventional measures of tumour response, such as size criteria and the uptake of fluorodeoxyglucose, may be insensitive to therapeutically important changes in vascular function.
ISSN:1040-8428
1879-0461
DOI:10.1016/j.critrevonc.2005.10.006