Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, Volume. 7, Issue 2, 1330005(2014)
Imaging tumor hypoxia: Blood-borne delivery of imaging agents is fundamentally different in hypoxia subtypes
Dedicated to the memory of Professor Britton Chance on the occasion of his 100th birthday (July 24th, 2013), and remembering many exciting discussions on the oxygenation of breast cancer, on tumor hypoxia in general and imaging of the oxygenation status of malignant tumors. Hypoxic tissue subvolumes are a hallmark feature of solid malignant tumors, relevant for cancer therapy and patient outcome because they increase both the intrinsic aggressiveness of tumor cells and their resistance to several commonly used anticancer strategies. Pathogenetic mechanisms leading to hypoxia are diverse, may coexist within the same tumor and are commonly grouped according to the duration of their effects. Chronic hypoxia is mainly caused by diffusion limitations resulting from enlarged intercapillary distances and adverse diffusion geometries and — to a lesser extent — by hypoxemia, compromised perfusion or long-lasting microregional flow stops. Conversely, acute hypoxia preferentially results from transient disruptions in perfusion. While each of these features of the tumor microenvironment can contribute to a critical reduction of oxygen availability, the delivery of imaging agents (as well as nutrients and anticancer agents) may be compromised or remain unaffected. Thus, a critical appraisal of the effects of the various mechanisms leading to hypoxia with regard to the blood-borne delivery of imaging agents is necessary to judge their ability to correctly represent the hypoxic phenotype of solid malignancies.
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Peter Vaupel, Arnulf Mayer. Imaging tumor hypoxia: Blood-borne delivery of imaging agents is fundamentally different in hypoxia subtypes[J]. Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, 2014, 7(2): 1330005
Received: Jul. 26, 2013
Accepted: Sep. 28, 2013
Published Online: Jan. 10, 2019
The Author Email: Vaupel Peter (vaupel@uni-mainz.de)