Contrast-enhanced ultrasound with microbubbles has shown promise in detection of prostate cancer (PCa), but sensitivity and specificity remain challenging. Targeted nanoscale-contrast agents with improved capability to accumulate in tumors may result in prolonged signal enhancement and improved detection of PCa with ultrasound. Here we report nanobubbles (NB) that specifically targets prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) overexpressed in PCa. The PSMA-targeted-NB (PSMA-NB) were utilized to simultaneously image dual-flank PCa (PSMA-positive PC3pip and PSMA-negative PC3flu) to examine whether the biomarker can be successfully detected and imaged in a mouse model. Results demonstrate that active targeting rapidly and selectively enhances tumor accumulation and tumor retention. Importantly, these processes could be visualized and quantified, in real-time, with clinical ultrasound. Such demonstration of the immense yet underutilized potential of ultrasound in the molecular imaging area can open the door to future opportunities for improving sensitivity and specificity of cancer detection using parametric NB-enhanced ultrasound imaging.

中文翻译：

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具有PSMA靶向纳米气泡的前列腺癌实时超声分子成像。

超声造影与微泡显示在前列腺癌（PCa）的检测中显示出希望，但敏感性和特异性仍然具有挑战性。具有提高的在肿瘤中蓄积能力的靶向纳米级造影剂可导致延长的信号增强和超声对PCa检测的改善。在这里，我们报告专门针对PCa中过表达的前列腺特异性膜抗原（PSMA）的纳米气泡（NB）。PSMA靶向的NB（PSMA-NB）用于同时对双侧PCa（PSMA阳性PC3pip和PSMA阴性PC3flu）成像，以检查生物标记是否可以在小鼠模型中成功检测到并成像。结果表明，主动靶向可以快速，选择性地增强肿瘤的积累和肿瘤的保留。重要的是，这些过程可以可视化和量化，实时进行临床超声检查。这种在分子成像领域中巨大而未被充分利用的超声潜力的证明可以为使用参数化NB增强超声成像提高癌症检测灵敏度和特异性的未来机会打开大门。