title: Novel oncologic drugs: what they do and how they affect images.
abstract: Targeted therapies are designed to interfere with specific aberrant biologic pathways involved in tumor development. The main classes of novel oncologic drugs include antiangiogenic drugs, antivascular agents, drugs interfering with EGFR-HER2 or KIT receptors, inhibitors of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, and hormonal therapies. Cancer cells usurp normal signal transduction pathways used by growth factors to stimulate proliferation and sustain viability. The interaction of growth factors with their receptors activates different intracellular pathways affecting key tumor biologic processes such as neoangiogenesis, tumor metabolism, and tumor proliferation. The response of tumors to anticancer therapy can be evaluated with anatomic response assessment, qualitative response assessment, and response assessment with functional and molecular imaging. Angiogenesis can be measured by means of perfusion imaging with computed tomography and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Diffusion-weighted MR imaging allows imaging evaluation of tumor cellularity. The main imaging techniques for studying tumor metabolism in vivo are positron emission tomography and MR spectroscopy. Familiarity with imaging findings secondary to tumor response to targeted therapies may help the radiologist better assist the clinician in accurate evaluation of tumor response to these anticancer treatments. Functional and molecular imaging techniques may provide valuable data and augment conventional assessment of tumor response to targeted therapies. Supplemental material available at http://radiographics.rsna.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1148/rg.317115108/-/DC1.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Grupo de Imagen Molecular, Fundación IDICHUS/IDIS, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Choupana s/n, 15702 Santiago de Compostela, Spain. roberto.garcia.figueiras@sergas.es
authors.forename: Roberto García
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Figueiras
authors.forename: Anwar R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Padhani
authors.forename: Vicky J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Goh
authors.forename: Joan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Vilanova
authors.forename: Sandra Baleato
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: Carmen Villalba
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Martín
authors.forename: Antonio Gómez
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Caamaño
authors.forename: Anaberta Bermúdez
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Naveira
authors.forename: Peter L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Choyke
mesh_terms: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents