Present role and future prospects of positron emission tomography in clinical oncology

Positron emission tomography (PET) has emerged as a significant molecular imaging technique in clinical oncology and cancer research. PET with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) demonstrates elevated glucose consumption by tumor cells, and is used clinically for the accurate staging and restaging of cancer, planning of radiotherapy, and predicting response or lack of response in the early stages of treatment. Combined PET and computed tomography (PET-CT) provides both functional and morphological information of the disease to allow accurate diagnosis of cancer. PET with new radiotracers such as protein synthesis markers and proliferation markers, as well as hypoxia and receptor-binding agents, will offer patient-specific images in order to yield tailored diagnostic and prognostic information. (Cancer Sci 2006; 97: 1291–1297)