Single-photon agents for tumor imaging: 201Tl, 99mTc-MIBI, and 99mTc-tetrofosmin

This review aims at fostering comprehension and knowledge not only for expert physicians who can skillfully handle various techniques for tumor imaging but also for young practitioners in the field of nuclear medicine. As image processing software and hardware become smaller, faster and better, SPECT will adapt and incorporate these advances. A principal advantage of SPECT over PET is the more widespread availability of the equipment and lower cost for the introduction of the system in community-based facilities. Moreover, SPECT has become less dependent on a limited number of acknowledged experts for its interpretation owing to a variety of handy computer tools for imaging analyses. The increasing use of PET in tumor imaging is not necessarily proportional to the decline of SPECT. General physicians' attention to SPECT technology would also increase more by evoking their interest in "tracer imaging."