Multimodal imaging of experimental bone metastasis

摘要

Bone is among the most common locations of metastasis and thereforerepresents an important target for diagnostic imaging in cancer patients aswell as in preclinical research. Non-invasive imaging modalities monitormolecular, functional and morphologic changes in both compartments ofthese skeletal lesions e the bone and the soft tissue tumor compartment. Inthe bone compartment, morphologic information on skeletal destruction isassessed by computed tomography (CT) and radiography. Pathogenic processes of osteoclast and osteoblast activity, however, can be imaged usingoptical imaging, positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emissionCT (SPECT) and skeletal scintigraphy. Accordingly, conventional magneticresonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound and CT as well as diffusion-weighted MRIand optical imaging are used to assess morphologic aspects on the macroscopic and cellular level of the soft tissue tumor compartment. Imagingmethods such as PET, dynamic contrast-enhanced techniques and vessel sizeimaging further elucidate on pathogenic processes in this compartmentincluding information on metabolism and vascularization. By monitoringthese aspects in bone lesions, new insights in the pathogenesis of skeletalmetastases can be gained when complementary information from multimodalimaging is combined. This talk summarizes emerging and established imagingtechniques in experimental bone metastasis for the assessment of tumor andbone cell activity including molecular, functional and morphological aspects.Finally, the translation of multimodal imaging techniques of skeletal lesionsinto the clinical situation is demonstrated for cancer patients.