Magnetic resonance molecular imaging for non-invasive precision cancer diagnosis

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive clinical imaging modality for high-resolution imaging of soft tissues. Magnetic resonance molecular imaging (MRMI) has the potential to provide high-resolution delineation of cancer for precision medicine. However, its clinical application is hampered by the low sensitivity of contrast enhanced MRI and the lack of safe and effective targeted MRI contrast agents. Significant progress has recently been made in the design and development of novel clinically translatable targeted MRI contrast agents for MRMI of cancer. The challenges and strategies for designing the safe and effective targeted MRI contrast agents are discussed here. Some of the recent progresses in MRMI are also highlighted. These progresses provide a new paradigm for the design and development of safe and effective MRI contrast agents for clinical translation and pave the way for clinical application of MRMI in precision management of cancer.