Functional imaging assessment of anti-angiogenic therapies: What is its place in 2012? [Quelle place pour l'imagerie fonctionnelle en 2012 dans le suivi des traitements antiangiogéniques ?]

摘要

Functional imaging, which allows the study of the Brownian motion of water molecules (DW-MRI) or the microcirculation (DCE-MRI, functional CT or contrast-enhanced ultrasound), is now available in clinical practice to assess treatment efficacy in oncologic patients. These techniques are mainly used in animal model studies and in phase I clinical trials. Indeed, they lead to a better understanding of the cascade of events that occur on the vascular bed and in the tissue structure during targeted or non-targeted therapies. DW-MRI provides indirect information about the structure and particularly the cellularity of the tissue. Perfusion imaging gives information about local blood volume, blood flow, and about the transfers between intra- and extra-vascular spaces. However, the spread of functional imaging in everyday oncology practice as support of a treatment decision still needs additional validation and standardization efforts.