Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for tumor staging and definition of tumor volumes on radiation treatment planning in nonsmall cell lung cancer: A prospective radiographic cohort study of single center clinical outcome

Measurements of target volumes and organs at risk using DW‑MRI in patients with central lung cancer accompanied with atelectasis

Accurate imaging-based tumor delineation is crucial for guiding the radiotherapy treatments of various solid tumors. Currently, several imaging procedures, including diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI), intensified computed tomography and positron emission tomography are routinely used for targeted tumor delineation. However, the performance of these imaging procedures has not yet been comprehensively evaluated. In order to address this matter, the present study was conducted in an aim to assess the use of DW-MRI in guiding radiotherapy treatments, by comparing its performance to that of other imaging procedures. Specifically, the exposure dosages to organs at risk, including the lungs, heart and spinal mencord, were evaluated using various radiotherapy regimes. The findings of the present study demonstrated that DW-MRI is a non-invasive and cost-effective imaging procedure that can be used to reduce lung exposure doses, minimizing the risk of radiation pneumonitis. The data further demonstrate the immense potential of the DW-MRI procedure in the precision radiotherapy of lung cancers.

A Multifunctional AIE Nanoprobe as a Drug Delivery Bioimaging and Cancer Treatment System

Of all malignant brain tumors, glioma is the deadliest and most common, with a poor prognosis. Drug therapy is considered as a promising way to stop the progression of disease and even cure tumors. However, the presence of blood brain barrier (BBB) and blood tumor barrier (BTB) limits the delivery of these therapeutic genes. In this work, an intelligent cell imaging and cancer therapy drug delivery system targeting the blood-brain barrier and the highly expressed transferrin receptors (TfR) in gliomas has been successfully constructed, and an amphiphilic polymer (PLA-PEG-T7/TPE) with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties has been designed and successfully synthesized. PLA-PEG-T7/TPE self-assembled polymer micelles showed significant AIE effect in aqueous solution with good biocompatibility. Therefore, it can be used for potential biological imaging applications. In addition, drug-carrying micelles showed typical behavior of regulating drug release. Inhibition of cell proliferation in vitro showed that the drug-loaded micelles had dose-dependent cytotoxicity to LN229 cells. In the in vivo anti-tumor experiment, PLA-PEG-T7/TPE/TMZ had the best therapeutic effect. These results indicated that T7 functionalized PLA-PEG was a promising platform for nasopharyngeal cancer drug combination therapy.

Self-assembled multifunctional nanotheranostics loading GEM for targeted lung cancer therapy

The aim of this study was to prepare a promising drug carrier for treatment of lung cancer. The self-assembly nanoparticles of SDP-GEM/PEI-PEG-anti-EGFR with chemotherapeutic drug of gemcitabine (GEM), Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guided- imaging and targeting of anti- Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (anti-EGFR) were designed. The imaging capacity, targeting feasibility and anti-tumor function were evaluated respectively. SDP-GEM/PEI-PEG-anti-EGFR exhibited contrast enhancement under T2 Weight Image (T2WI) and a liner relationship was found between the concentration and relaxation rate of R2 and R2* in vitro. With the targeting of anti-EGFR, the endocytosis of nanoparticles increased significantly, which effectively killed lung cancer cells in vitro, and importantly it can be accurately delivered to tumor site within 3 h in vivo. Prolonged lifetime and smaller tumor volume demonstrated that SDP-GEM/PEI-PEG-anti-EGFR efficiently inhibited tumor growth in vivo. Therefore, SDP-GEM/PEI-PEG-anti-EGFR was an effective and safe drug carrier, which had a great potential application in MRI-guided lung cancer therapy.