Preclinical molecular imaging of tumor angiogenesis.

Angiogenesis, a course that new blood vessels grow from the existing vasculature, plays important roles both physiologically and pathologically. Angiogenesis can be switched on by growth factors secreted by tumor cells, and in turn supplies more oxygen and nutrition to the tumor. More and more preclinical studies and clinical trials have shown that inhibition of angiogenesis is an effective way to inhibit tumor growth, substantiating the development of anti-angiogenesis therapeutics. Imaging technologies accelerate the translation of preclinical research to the clinic. In oncology, various imaging modalities are widely applied to drug development, tumor early detection and therapy response monitoring. So far, several angiogenesis related imaging agents are promising in cancer diagnosis. However, more effective imaging agents with less side-effect still need to be pursued to visualize angiogenesis process non-invasively. The main purpose of this review is to summarize the recent progresses in preclinical molecular imaging of angiogenesis and to discuss the potential of the current preclinical probes specific to various angiogenesis targets including vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptors (VEGF/VEGFRs), integrin avb3 and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). It is predictable that related investigations in the field will benefit cancer research and quicken the anti-angiogenic drug development.