Clinical significance of hypoxia in nasopharyngeal carcinoma with a focus on existing and novel hypoxia molecular imaging.
Locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is still associated with significant locoregional failure and poor overall survival (OS) after chemoradiation. The maximal therapeutic effect of conventional chemotherapy combined with radiation may have been reached and there is a clinical need to identify additional adverse prognostic factors that could be targeted therapeutically. Hypoxia, a known prognostic factor in head and neck cancers is an attractive target in NPC with various treatment strategies available such as hypoxic cell sensitisers/cytotoxins and increasing intratumoral oxygen delivery, to overcome the poorer outcomes associated with this phenotype. Thus, we aim to review the clinical significance of hypoxia as well as the current and future of molecular hypoxia imaging in NPC.
Department of Radiology, Level 1, Lambeth Wing, St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7EH, UK. connie.yip@kcl.ac.uk.
Connie
C
Yip
Department of Cancer Imaging, Division of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, UK; Clinical PET Imaging Centre, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, UK.
Gary J R
GJ
Cook
Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Centre, Singapore.
Joseph
J
Wee
Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Centre, Singapore.
Kam Weng
KW
Fong
Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Centre, Singapore.
Terence
T
Tan
Department of Cancer Imaging, Division of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, UK; Department of Radiology, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, UK.
Vicky
V
Goh
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D002277:Carcinoma; D015687:Cell Hypoxia; D056831:Coordination Complexes; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D009593:Nitroimidazoles; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D010100:Oxygen / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D011379:Prognosis; D013882:Thiosemicarbazones; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D056831:Coordination Complexes; D009593:Nitroimidazoles; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D013882:Thiosemicarbazones; C089548:copper (II) diacetyl-di(N(4)-methylthiosemicarbazone); C070588:iodoazomycin arabinoside; D010100:Oxygen
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); hypoxia; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); positron emission tomography (PET); single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)