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The emerging role of medical radiologists in new drug discovery

Pathologists have long been closely associated with pharmaceutical research, especially in new drug candidates' safety evaluation [1] where the drug candidates are administered to animals for a period of time, then animals are sacrificed and various tissues and organs are harvested for histopathological assessment.

With the technological advances the resolution of high frequency ultrasound, micro-CT and high field MRI has been increasingly close to histopathology. Indeed, the word "MR microscopy" has been commonly used in literatures [2, 3]. Compared with histopathological approaches, one distinct advantage of in vivo imaging is its being non-invasive. Repeated imaging allows the monitoring of the appearance and progression, or regression, of various structural and functional abnormalities. However, although in vivo imaging has been playing an increasingly important role in pharmaceutical research [4, 5], involvement of medical radiologists in this area remains limited.

In areas of in vivo micro-imaging, medical radiologists are able to assume the similar role of toxicological pathologists in histopathological assessment. Until now, biological imaging in the pharmaceutical industry has mainly been carried out by research scientists, usually PhD qualified with a physical sciences or bioscience background. PhD qualified can develop a deep understanding of a particular organ or system. However, they may overlook changes beyond their special interests. For example, a PhD qualified working on a liver metastasis animal model applying an imaging modality may miss a small adrenal gland metastasis. On the other hand, radiologists tend to have a good understanding of the whole body of the biological systems (animals); their experience of interpreting normal anatomy (and its variants and natural degeneration) and pathological changes are highly transferable. The ways in which imaging data sets are assessed and three-dimensional (3D) structures are re-constructed mentally based on multiple 2D imaging planes, of which radiologist are experienced, are also important for optimal image interpretation. An inexperienced image assessor may read some notches in bone joint surface as bone erosive cysts when studying animal arthritis models. This difficulty can be overcome if source images are viewed sequentially and 3D structures are re-constructed mentally.

Another source of similar experience can be from veterinary radiologists, but until now the training of veterinary radiologists has focused on radiography and ultrasound [6]. In drug discovery, micro-imaging mainly involves MRI, which medical radiologists tend to have more expertise in. While the primary interests of medical radiologists are in human subjects, veterinary radiologists are mainly concerned with pet livestock and animals as opposed to laboratory animals.

Unless a medical radiologist is interested in engaging other aspects of new drug research or development work [7], there is generally not enough work in a particular research site of a pharmaceutical company to warrant a radiologist conducting full time image reading. One apparent solution could be to maintain a long-term image-interpretation consultancy contract between a radiologist and a pharmaceutical company. The radiologists interested in drug discovery need to develop specific knowledge in laboratory animal anatomy and physiology. They also need to develop a basic understanding of the drug discovery and development processes. Close engagement of radiologists with drug discovery processes will benefit pharmaceutical industries, and it can also bring radiologists many interesting research opportunities.

Yours etc.,

Y-X J Wang

Department of Radiology, Rui Jin Hospital, SSMU, Shanghai 200025, P R China
Current address: AstraZeneca21XFMeresideMacclesfieldCheshireSK10 4TGUK

Footnotes

Statement: Yi-Xiang Wang is currently an employee of AstraZeneca Plc. The opinions expressed in this letter reflect his personal views and should not be taken as the official position of AstraZeneca Plc.

Received for publication June 8, 2005. Accepted for publication June 15, 2005.

References

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3. Beckmann N, Bruttel K, Mir A, Rudin M. Noninvasive 3D MR microscopy as a tool in pharmacological research: application to a model of rheumatoid arthritis. Magn Reson Imaging 1995;13:1013–7.[CrossRef][Medline]
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6. Guidelines for an ECVDI accredited residency programme in Diagnostic Imaging. http://www.vet.gla.ac.uk/EVDI/ec-res.htm [Accessed 27 May 2005].
7. Wang YXJ. Medical imaging in pharmaceutical clinical trials: what radiologists should know. Clin Radiol 2005;60: (In press).

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