Candidate Biomarkers for Specific Intraoperative Near-Infrared Imaging of Soft Tissue Sarcomas: A Systematic Review

Simple Summary Near-infrared imaging of tumors during surgery facilitates the oncologic surgeon to distinguish malignant from healthy tissue. The technique is based on fluorescent tracers binding to tumor biomarkers on malignant cells. Currently, there are no clinically available fluorescent tracers that specifically target soft tissue sarcomas. This review searched the literature to find candidate biomarkers for soft tissue sarcomas, based on clinically used therapeutic antibodies. The search revealed 7 biomarkers: TEM1, VEGFR-1, EGFR, VEGFR-2, IGF-1R, PDGFR alpha, and CD40. These biomarkers are abundantly present on soft tissue sarcoma tumor cells and are already being targeted with humanized monoclonal antibodies. The conjugation of these antibodies with a fluorescent dye will yield in specific tracers for image-guided surgery of soft tissue sarcomas to improve the success rates of tumor resections. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for localized soft tissue sarcomas (STS). The curative treatment highly depends on complete tumor resection, as positive margins are associated with local recurrence (LR) and prognosis. However, determining the tumor margin during surgery is challenging. Real-time tumor-specific imaging can facilitate complete resection by visualizing tumor tissue during surgery. Unfortunately, STS specific tracers are presently not clinically available. In this review, STS-associated cell surface-expressed biomarkers, which are currently already clinically targeted with monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic purposes, are evaluated for their use in near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging of STS. Clinically targeted biomarkers in STS were extracted from clinical trial registers and a PubMed search was performed. Data on biomarker characteristics, sample size, percentage of biomarker-positive STS samples, pattern of biomarker expression, biomarker internalization features, and previous applications of the biomarker in imaging were extracted. The biomarkers were ranked utilizing a previously described scoring system. Eleven cell surface-expressed biomarkers were identified from which 7 were selected as potential biomarkers for NIRF imaging: TEM1, VEGFR-1, EGFR, VEGFR-2, IGF-1R, PDGFR alpha, and CD40. Promising biomarkers in common and aggressive STS subtypes are TEM1 for myxofibrosarcoma, TEM1, and PDGFR alpha for undifferentiated soft tissue sarcoma and EGFR for synovial sarcoma.

Automated summary

Near-infrared imaging technology facilitates tumor identification during surgery, allowing surgeons to distinguish malignant tissue using specific biomarkers. By evaluating clinically targeted biomarkers on soft tissue sarcomas, potential candidates for near-infrared fluorescence imaging have been identified to improve surgical outcomes and enhance tumor resection accuracy. Promising biomarkers have been found in common and aggressive soft tissue sarcoma subtypes, showing potential for future clinical applications.