Page 39 - ARNM-2-3

Advances in Radiotherapy
& Nuclear Medicine Molecular imaging of lung cancer

pathway. It is positively correlated with immune cell Conflict of interest
122
infiltration and is involved in tumor immunity, suggesting
that COL6A6 may be a potential immunotherapeutic The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
target for lung adenocarcinoma. 123 Author contributions
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 is one of the key enzymes Conceptualization: Dongjun Li
involved in breaking down the extracellular matrix by Writing – original draft: All authors
catalyzing collagen, elastin, fibrin, and other components. Writing – review & editing: Dongjun Li
It promotes the invasion and metastasis of malignant cells
and is a risk factor for advanced tumor stages and poor Ethics approval and consent to participate
prognosis, 124,125 highlighting its potential as a therapeutic Not applicable.
target for NSCLC patients. 126,127 An increasing number of
novel biomarkers, closely associated with histological types Consent for publication
and metastasis, are being studied for lung cancer detection
and therapy. 128-130 Not applicable.

6. Conclusions and future directions Availability of data
Not applicable.
As the radiological gold standard, CT continues to
play an irreplaceable role in lung cancer diagnosis and References
screening due to its high spatial resolution, availability,
and lower cost. The application of artificial intelligence 1. Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, et al. Global cancer statistics
2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality
in interpreting CT images is being explored to improve worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin.
diagnostic accuracy and patient stratification. FDG-PET 2021;71(3):209-249.
is widely used in clinics for the diagnosis and staging of
lung cancer due to its accuracy in distinguishing between doi: 10.3322/caac.21660
benign and malignant lung tumors. The development of 2. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Wagle NS, Jemal A. Cancer statistics,
various PET tracers targeting different biomarkers has 2023. CA Cancer J Clin. 2023;73(1):17-48.
shown complementary specificity to FDG-PET imaging doi: 10.3322/caac.21763
and equivalent sensitivity. Continuous efforts will focus 3. Herbst RS, Heymach JV, Lippman SM. Lung cancer. N Engl J
on developing novel PET tracers with higher sensitivity Med. 2008;359(13):1367-1380.
and specificity for the early lung cancer detection.
Conventional MRI has exhibited comparable lung cancer doi: 10.1056/NEJMra0802714
detection capabilities to CT. UTE MRI overcomes the 4. Herbst RS, Morgensztern D, Boshoff C. The biology
limitation of conventional MR pulse sequences, achieving and management of non-small cell lung cancer. Nature.
CT-like images with detailed anatomical information 2018;553(7689):446-454.
of the lung tissue. The utilization of novel MRI contrast doi: 10.1038/nature25183
agents targeting various biomarkers can provide additional 5. Wang M, Herbst RS, Boshoff C. Toward personalized
biological and molecular/cellular information, enabling treatment approaches for non-small-cell lung cancer. Nat
radiation-free early detection and assessment of disease Med. 2021;27(8):1345-1356.
severity and progression. The high diagnosis rate and doi: 10.1038/s41591-021-01450-2
mortality of lung cancer patients will continue to drive
advancements in the early detection and therapeutics for 6. Blandin Knight S, Crosbie PA, Balata H, Chudziak J,
lung cancer. Hussell T, Dive C. Progress and prospects of early detection
in lung cancer. Open Biol. 2017;7(9):170070.
Acknowledgment doi: 10.1098/rsob.170070
None. 7. Inage T, Nakajima T, Yoshino I, Yasufuku K. Early lung
cancer detection. Clin Chest Med. 2018;39(1):45-55.
Funding doi: 10.1016/j.ccm.2017.10.003
Dongjun Li was sponsored by GSU MBD fellowships, 8. Tang WF, Wu M, Bao H, et al. Timing and origins of local
while Bamishaye Oluwabukola was sponsored by GSU and distant metastases in lung cancer. J Thorac Oncol.
CDT fellowships. 2021;16(7):1136-1148.

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024) 7 doi: 10.36922/arnm.4173