一种用于检测肿瘤中非放射性葡萄糖分子摄入情况的无损技术能帮助诊断癌症类型并评估病人的治疗反应，这是8月《自然—医学》上一项研究给出的结论。
与正常组织相比，肿瘤需要摄入更多的葡萄糖以产生能量和制造细胞增殖所需的阻断物。Simon Walker-Samuel等人开发的这项技术被称为葡萄糖化学交换饱和转移（glucoCEST），同其他黄金标准技术以及诸如缺氧之类的肿瘤代谢标记相比，该技术在测定肿瘤的摄入葡萄糖代谢方面具有很高的灵敏性。他们已用该技术确定出了含有不同致命结构的多种结直肠肿瘤类型。
因为该技术已被证明与其他放射性检测技术具有相同的效果，而该技术使用的是未标记的葡萄糖，这将使临床应用成本更便宜、使用更简便。研究人员相信，这项新技术也能用于鉴定肿瘤内的细胞变异情况，从而影响治疗过程中的药物反应，同时还能用于较小肿瘤的评估。（生物谷 Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐的英文摘要
Nature Medicine doi:10.1038/nm.3252
In vivo imaging of glucose uptake and metabolism in tumors
Simon Walker-Samuel, Rajiv Ramasawmy, Francisco Torrealdea, Marilena Rega, Vineeth Rajkumar, S Peter Johnson, Simon Richardson, Miguel Gonçalves, Harold G Parkes, Erik Årstad, David L Thomas, R Barbara Pedley, Mark F Lythgoe & Xavier Golay
Tumors have a greater reliance on anaerobic glycolysis for energy production than normal tissues. We developed a noninvasive method for imaging glucose uptake in vivo that is based on magnetic resonance imaging and allows the uptake of unlabeled glucose to be measured through the chemical exchange of protons between hydroxyl groups and water. This method differs from existing molecular imaging methods because it permits detection of the delivery and uptake of a metabolically active compound in physiological quantities. We show that our technique, named glucose chemical exchange saturation transfer (glucoCEST), is sensitive to tumor glucose accumulation in colorectal tumor models and can distinguish tumor types with differing metabolic characteristics and pathophysiologies. The results of this study suggest that glucoCEST has potential as a useful and cost-effective method for characterizing disease and assessing response to therapy in the clinic.
