Imaging Biomarkers in Immunotherapy

Abstract

Immune-based therapies have been in use for decades but recent work with immune checkpoint inhibitors has now changed the landscape of cancer treatment as a whole. While these advances are encouraging, clinicians still do not have a consistent biomarker they can rely on that can accurately select patients or monitor response. Molecular imaging technology provides a noninvasive mechanism to evaluate tumors and may be an ideal candidate for these purposes. This review provides an overview of the mechanism of action of varied immunotherapies and the current strategies for monitoring patients with imaging. We then describe some of the key researches in the preclinical and clinical literature on the current uses of molecular imaging of the immune system and cancer.

Future cancer research priorities in the USA: a Lancet Oncology Commission

“…According to one review, 303 484 clinical trials involved imaging, but only 15 trials involved molecular rather than anatomical imaging, nearly half of which used 18 F-FDG, with its attendant problems. The strategies used to target the relevant immune cells are as varied and complex as immunotherapy itself, including ex-vivo labelling of, 303–305 or introduction of, 306–309 imaging reporters to adoptively transferred cells, immunoimaging with radiolabelled antibodies 310,311 or antibody fragments, 312,313 and radiopharmaceuticals of low molecular weight. 314 All strategies are being pursued in parallel, and therapeutic clinical trials that integrate them are beginning to appear.…”

Immuno-Oncology, Imaging Biomarkers and Response to Chemotherapy in Cancer Treatment

“…Diffusionweighted MRI demonstrates the access of drug by parameters such as rate and distance of water molecule. Recent study evaluates immunotherapy by using cells labeled with either super paramagnetic iron oxide particles or perfluorocarbon nanoemulsions in MRI-based cell follow [51,52]. Detecting biochemical markers in tumors is possible by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and PET.…”

PET Imaging of T Cells: Target Identification and Feasibility Assessment

“…While largely accepted as biomarkers of tumor activity, both [ 18 F]FDG and [ 18 F]FLT have limitations, including the fact that they do not differentiate well between cancer and inflammation . Novel T‐cell‐specific imaging agents that could be used in peripheral organs would effectively support the diagnosis and evaluation of drug candidates in immuno‐oncology . They would also greatly facilitate the therapeutic development of cell‐based therapies such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells …”