Non-invasive genetic imaging for molecular and cell therapies of cancer.

Gene therapy is a very attractive strategy in experimental cancer therapy. Ideally, the approach aims to deliver therapeutic genes selectively to cancer cells. However, progress in the improvement of gene therapy formulations has been hampered by difficulties in measuring transgene delivery and in quantifying transgene expression in vivo. In clinical trials, endpoints rely almost exclusively on the analysis of biopsies, which provide limited information. Non-invasive monitoring of gene delivery and expression is a very attractive approach as it can be repeated over time in the same patient to provide spatiotemporal information on gene expression on a whole body scale. Thus, imaging methods can uniquely provide researchers and clinicians the ability to directly and serially assess morphological, functional and metabolic changes consequent to molecular and cellular based therapies. This review highlights the various methods currently being developed in preclinical models.