Clinical trials in a molecular world.
New therapies aimed at molecular abnormalities are often more efficacious and less toxic than nontargeted therapies; however, with current technology, major treatment decisions are being made with inadequate data. This problem needs to be fixed by molecular imaging technology, enabling he noninvasive establishment of the presence of a molecular target, its spatial distribution and heterogeneity, and how this changes over time. This article discusses the status of molecular imaging in clinical trails today, and looks forward to what physicians would like it to become.
Schellingerhout
Dawid
D
M D Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Gelovani
Juri
J
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006801:Humans; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D066246:ErbB Receptors