Title:Image-Guided Drug Delivery with Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography: A Review of Literature
Volume: 16
Issue: 6
Author(s): Rubel Chakravarty, Hao Hong and Weibo Cai
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Cancer, chemotherapy, image-guided drug delivery, molecular imaging, single-photon emission computed tomography,
theranostics.
Abstract: Tremendous resources are being invested all over the world for prevention,
diagnosis, and treatment of various types of cancer. Successful cancer management
depends on accurate diagnosis of the disease along with precise therapeutic protocol.
The conventional systemic drug delivery approaches generally cannot completely remove
the competent cancer cells without surpassing the toxicity limits to normal tissues. Therefore, development of efficient
drug delivery systems holds prime importance in medicine and healthcare. Also, molecular imaging can play an increasingly
important and revolutionizing role in disease management. Synergistic use of molecular imaging and targeted
drug delivery approaches provides unique opportunities in a relatively new area called ‘image-guided drug delivery’
(IGDD). Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is the most widely used nuclear imaging modality in
clinical context and is increasingly being used to guide targeted therapeutics. The innovations in material science have fueled
the development of efficient drug carriers based on, polymers, liposomes, micelles, dendrimers, microparticles,
nanoparticles, etc. Efficient utilization of these drug carriers along with SPECT imaging technology have the potential to
transform patient care by personalizing therapy to the individual patient, lessening the invasiveness of conventional treatment
procedures and rapidly monitoring the therapeutic efficacy. SPECT-IGDD is not only effective for the treatment of
cancer but might also find utility in the management of several other diseases. Herein, we provide a concise overview of
the latest advances in SPECT-IGDD procedures and discuss the challenges and opportunities for advancement of the field.
