Latest Advances in Biomedical Imaging for Colorectal Cancer

Olzhas Urazayev, Asset Yelemessov

2025

Full text Open access: Hybrid Metadata (CSL-JSON)
DOI 10.4103/wkbj.wkbj_4_26
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide, underscoring the importance of accurate detection, staging, and treatment monitoring. Biomedical imaging is central to CRC management, evolving from conventional anatomical techniques toward advanced functional, molecular, and data-driven approaches. Traditional modalities such as colonoscopy, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) continue to play indispensable roles in screening, diagnosis, and staging. However, their reliance on morphology and size-based criteria limits sensitivity for early lesions, micrometastases, and biological tumor characterization. Recent advances in biomedical imaging have addressed these limitations by integrating molecular, quantitative, and computational innovations. Molecular imaging techniques, including positron emission tomography (PET) with novel tracers such as fibroblast activation protein inhibitors, enable improved detection of primary tumors and metastases with enhanced tumor-to-background contrast. Functional MRI techniques provide insights into tumor cellularity, perfusion, and treatment response. In parallel, radiomics has emerged as a powerful tool for extracting high-dimensional quantitative features from routine imaging, offering noninvasive biomarkers for prognosis, molecular profiling, and therapeutic response prediction. Artificial intelligence, particularly deep learning, has demonstrated significant clinical impact, most notably through real-time computer-aided detection during colonoscopy, which improves adenoma detection rates and reduces miss rates. Advanced optical and hybrid imaging modalities, including fluorescence-guided imaging, confocal laser endomicroscopy, and PET/MRI, further expand diagnostic and intraoperative capabilities. Despite these advances, challenges related to validation, standardization, cost, and clinical integration remain. Continued multidisciplinary research and prospective validation are essential to translate these imaging innovations into routine practice and to advance precision medicine in CRC.