Antibody conjugates as CT/MRI Theranostics for diagnosis of cancers: a review of recent trends and advances

The constant need for cancer diagnosis in the early stages drives the development of contrast agents and imaging methods. Imaging agents have important roles in monitoring the progression and metastasis of cancers. Antibodies as biomolecules in conjugation with nanoparticles, radioisotopes, and drugs have been used as biomarkers for the early diagnosis/therapy of cancers due to their serum stability, affinity, and specificity. While antibodies are commonly used as nuclear medicine biomarkers, antibody-based contrast agent platforms have recently gained attention in X-ray computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The developing antibody-based contrast agents have revolutionized cancer imaging techniques, particularly through MRI. Despite the promising advancements, some challenges and limitations need to be addressed for the extensive applications of these agents. Ongoing research is focused on overcoming challenges and limitations to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of these imaging methods. With continued advancements, antibody-based contrast agents hold immense potential in the early diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In this review, we summarize and categorize the recent progress in targeted imaging using antibody-based contrast agents by MRI and CT modalities.