Fathi M, Taher HJ, Al-Rubiae SJ, Yaghoobpoor S, Bahrami A, Eshraghi R, Sadri H, Asadi Anar M, Gholamrezanezhad A. Role of molecular imaging in prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers: An update on new therapeutic methods. World J Methodol 2024; 14(4): 93461 [DOI: 10.5662/wjm.v14.i4.93461]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ali Gholamrezanezhad, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 2051 Marengo ST, Los Angeles, CA 90033, United States. gholamre@usc.edu
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Mobina Fathi, Shirin Yaghoobpoor, Mahsa Asadi Anar, Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1983969411, Iran
Hayder Jasim Taher, Sabah Jassim Al-Rubiae, Department of Radiology, Hilla University College, Babylon 00964, Iraq
Ashkan Bahrami, Reza Eshraghi, Hossein Sadri, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan 1617768911, Iran
Ali Gholamrezanezhad, Department of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, United States
Author contributions: Gholamrezanezhad A contributed to the supervision and conceptualization of the topic; Fathi M conceived and designed the data; Al-Rubaei SJ and Taher HJ searched the databases and extracted data; Yaghoobpoor S, Eshraghi R, Sadri H and Asadi Anar M contributed to the writing and editing paper; Bahrami A designed the Tables and gathered Figures. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors had no conflict of interests.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ali Gholamrezanezhad, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 2051 Marengo ST, Los Angeles, CA 90033, United States. gholamre@usc.edu
Received: February 27, 2024 Revised: May 31, 2024 Accepted: July 15, 2024 Published online: December 20, 2024 Processing time: 149 Days and 13.7 Hours
Abstract
One of the leading causes of cancer-related death is gastrointestinal cancer, which has a significant morbidity and mortality rate. Although preoperative risk assessment is essential for directing patient care, its biological behavior cannot be accurately predicted by conventional imaging investigations. Potential pathophysiological information in anatomical imaging that cannot be visually identified can now be converted into high-dimensional quantitative image features thanks to the developing discipline of molecular imaging. In order to enable molecular tissue profile in vivo, molecular imaging has most recently been utilized to phenotype the expression of single receptors and targets of biological therapy. It is expected that molecular imaging will become increasingly important in the near future, driven by the expanding range of biological therapies for cancer. With this live molecular fingerprinting, molecular imaging can be utilized to drive expression-tailored customized therapy. The technical aspects of molecular imaging are first briefly discussed in this review, followed by an examination of the most recent research on the diagnosis, prognosis, and potential future clinical methods of molecular imaging for GI tract malignancies.
Core Tip: In this study, we explored the important role of molecular imaging methods including single-photon emission computed tomography, positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, photoacoustic imaging, magnetic resonance imaging in gastrointestinal cancers (GIC). These techniques require a forward-looking attitude and clear objectives, which will ultimately guarantee the efficient utilization of these promising tools for identifying GIC characteristics, assessing treatment effectiveness, and providing guidance for therapy and monitoring. By incorporating these sophisticated imaging and molecular technologies into the therapeutic process, medical professionals can customize treatment approaches for each patient, track the effectiveness of treatment, and make well-informed choices on ongoing care.
