Personalized versus evidence-based medicine with PET-based imaging

In this Perspective the feasibility, scope and impact of integrating PET-based personalized medicine into the evidence-based clinical practice of oncology is discussed. The basic concepts of 'evidence-based medicine' and 'personalized medicine' at times seem contradictory; however, I will discuss, with specific clinical situations as examples, a synergistic and probably incremental link between the two and propose that the result of such integration will ultimately improve patient management. Tailoring therapeutic approaches and regimens by molecular imaging, with PET at its forefront, would enable disease management at the individual level and this modification would hopefully further strengthen the evidence-based approach in oncology.