NIR fluorescence imaging and treatment for cancer immunotherapy

• Published in: Journal for immunotherapy of cancer Vol. 10; no. 7; p. e004936
• Main Authors: Kang, Homan, Kang, Min-Woong, Kashiwagi, Satoshi, Choi, Hak Soo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 01-07-2022; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Publishing Group
• Subjects: adjuvants, pharmaceutic; Antibodies; Biomarkers; biomarkers, tumor; Cancer; Cancer therapies; cell engineering; Cell growth; Humans; Immune system; Immunology; Immunotherapy; Immunotherapy - methods; Light; Longitudinal studies; Nanoparticles; Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Neoplasms - therapy; Optical Imaging - methods; Proteins; Quantum dots; Review; Tumors; cell engineering; adjuvants, pharmaceutic; immunotherapy; biomarkers, tumor
• ISSN: 2051-1426; 2051-1426
• DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-004936

Cancer immunotherapy has emerged as one of the most powerful anticancer therapies. However, the details on the interaction between tumors and the immune system are complicated and still poorly understood. Optical fluorescence imaging is a technique that allows for the visualization of fluorescence-labeled immune cells and monitoring of the immune response during immunotherapy. To this end, near-infrared (NIR) light has been adapted for optical fluorescence imaging because it is relatively safe and simple without hazardous ionizing radiation and has relatively deeper tissue penetration into living organisms than visible fluorescence light. In this review, we discuss state-of-the-art NIR optical imaging techniques in cancer immunotherapy to observe the dynamics, efficacy, and responses of the immune components in living organisms. The use of bioimaging labeling techniques will give us an understanding of how the immune system is primed and ultimately developed.