Progress on tumor angiogenesis imaging targeting integrin αvβ3 receptor

Malignant tumors′growth and metastasis depend on tumor angiogenesis. Recent studies had found that the integrin αvβ3 had a high expression on the surface of tumor angiogenesis endothelial cells and parts of the tumor cells, it can regulate tumor angiogenesis by cell adhesion, but it does not ex-press on the surface of normal blood vessels or the normal organizations, or only had a low level expression. Thus it can be used as a new target for the tumor angiogenesis imaging and treatment. Recent years, there is a great progress on the design of the integrinαvβ3 targeting agents, the selection of radionuclides, and the latest research on the agents at home and abroad. This article will made a review on how to better design the integrinαvβ3 agents, choose the appropriate radionuclides, and the research direction of these agents. Key words: Neovascularization, pathologic;  Integrin αvβ3;  Radionuclide imaging