Current opportunities and challenges of magnetic resonance spectroscopy, positron emission tomography, and mass spectrometry imaging for mapping cancer metabolism in vivo.
Cancer is known to have unique metabolic features such as Warburg effect. Current cancer therapy has moved forward from cytotoxic treatment to personalized, targeted therapies, with some that could lead to specific metabolic changes, potentially monitored by imaging methods. In this paper we addressed the important aspects to study cancer metabolism by using image techniques, focusing on opportunities and challenges of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP)-MRS, positron emission tomography (PET), and mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) for mapping cancer metabolism. Finally, we highlighted the future possibilities of an integrated in vivo PET/MR imaging systems, together with an in situ MSI tissue analytical platform, may become the ultimate technologies for unraveling and understanding the molecular complexities in some aspects of cancer metabolism. Such comprehensive imaging investigations might provide information on pharmacometabolomics, biomarker discovery, and disease diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment response monitoring for clinical medicine.
Department of Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Chang Gung University, 5 Fuhsing Street, Guishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan ; Molecular Imaging Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Chang Gung University, 5 Fuhsing Street, Guishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan ; Metabolomics Core Laboratory, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Chang Gung University, 5 Fuhsing Street, Guishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
Gigin
0000-0001-7246-1058
G
Lin
The Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital, CRUK Cancer Imaging Centre, Downs Road, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5PT, UK.
Yuen-Li
YL
Chung
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D011859:Radiography