Integrins play an important role in tumor progression, invasion and metastasis. Therefore we aimed to evaluate a preclinical imaging approach applying ???3 integrin targeted hybrid Fluorescence Molecular Tomography/X-ray Computed Tomography (FMT-XCT) for monitoring tumor progression as well as early therapy response in a syngeneic murine Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) model. Lewis Lung Carcinomas were grown orthotopically in C57BL/6 J mice and imaged in-vivo using a ???3 targeted near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) probe. ???3-targeted FMT-XCT was able to track tumor progression. Cilengitide was able to substantially block the binding of the NIRF probe and suppress the imaging signal. Additionally mice were treated with an established chemotherapy regimen of Cisplatin and Bevacizumab or with a novel MEK inhibitor (Refametinib) for 2 weeks. While ?CT revealed only a moderate slowdown of tumor growth, ???3 dependent signal decreased significantly compared to non-treated mice already at one week post treatment. ???3 targeted imaging might therefore become a promising tool for assessment of early therapy response in the future.     «

Integrins play an important role in tumor progression, invasion and metastasis. Therefore we aimed to evaluate a preclinical imaging approach applying ???3 integrin targeted hybrid Fluorescence Molecular Tomography/X-ray Computed Tomography (FMT-XCT) for monitoring tumor progression as well as early therapy response in a syngeneic murine Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) model. Lewis Lung Carcinomas were grown orthotopically in C57BL/6 J mice and imaged in-vivo using a ???3 targeted near-infrar...     »