Imaging Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs) with FAPi PET

Abstract

The tumor microenvironment (TME) surrounding tumor cells is a complex and highly dynamic system that promotes tumorigenesis. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are key elements in TME playing a pivotal role in cancer cells' proliferation and metastatic spreading. Considering the high expression of the fibroblast activation protein (FAP) on the cell membrane, CAFs emerged as appealing TME targets, namely for molecular imaging, leading to a pan-tumoral approach. Therefore, FAP inhibitors (FAPis) have recently been developed for PET imaging and radioligand therapy, exploring the clinical application in different tumor sub-types. The present review aimed to describe recent developments regarding radiolabeled FAP inhibitors and evaluate the possible translation of this pan-tumoral approach in clinical practice. At present, the application of FAPi-PET has been explored mainly in single-center studies, generally performed in small and heterogeneous cohorts of oncological patients. However, preliminary results were promising, in particular in low FDG-avid tumors, such as primary liver and gastro-entero-pancreatic cancer, or in regions with an unfavorable tumor-to-background ratio at FDG-PET/CT (i.e., brain), and in radiotherapy planning of head and neck tumors. Further promising results have been obtained in the detection of peritoneal carcinomatosis, especially in ovarian and gastric cancer. Data regarding the theranostics approach are still limited at present, and definitive conclusions about its efficacy cannot be drawn at present. Nevertheless, the use of FAPi-based radio-ligand to treat the TME has been evaluated in first-in-human studies and appears feasible. Although the pan-tumoral approach in molecular imaging showed promising results, its real impact in day-to-day clinical practice has yet to be confirmed, and multi-center prospective studies powered for efficacy are needed.

Keywords: FAPi; PET/CT; cancer-associated fibroblast; fibroblast activation protein; theranostics.

Figure 1

The tumor microenvironment consists of tumor cells and nonmalignant cells, such as lymphocytes, macrophages, NK cells, normal epithelial cells, and activated fibroblasts (CAFs).