Oncology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Oncology, including details on cancer, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy.

Fundamentals of molecular imaging: rationale and applications with relevance for radiation oncology.

Schöder H, Ong SC

Department of Radiology/Nuclear Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA. schoderh@mskcc.org

Molecular imaging allows for the visualization and quantification biologic processes at cellular levels. This article focuses on positron emission tomography as one readily available tool for clinical molecular imaging. To prove its clinical utility in oncology, molecular imaging will ultimately have to provide valuable information in the following 4 pertinent areas: staging; assessment of extent of disease; target delineation for radiation therapy planning; response prediction and assessment and differentiation between treatment sequelae and recurrent disease. These issues are addressed in other contributions in this issue of Seminars in Nuclear Medicine. In contrast, this article will focus on the biochemical principles of cancer metabolism that provide the rationale for positron emission tomography imaging in radiation oncology.

Published 4 February 2008 in Semin Nucl Med, 38(2): 119-28.
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