Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 2, 2026

Author Spotlight: A 3D Digital Model for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Nodules
Published on: May 19, 2023
Molecular imaging of pulmonary nodules
Anna Margherita Maffione1, Gaia Grassetto, Lucia Rampin
11 Department of Nuclear Medicine, PET Unit, Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital, Viale Tre Martiri 140, Rovigo 45100, Italy.
Objective:
Lung nodules can be benign or malignant, reflecting many possible causes, ranging from inflammatory and infectious processes to neoplasms. Incidental detection on chest x-ray or thoracic CT often requires further evaluation by imaging or invasive procedures.
Conclusion:
Currently, 18F-FDG PET/CT offers both anatomic and metabolic characterization of lung nodules. Fluorine-18-thymidine, 11C-methionine, 68Ga-DOTA-somatostatin analogs, and 18F-dihydroxyphenylalanine may offer additional molecular information useful for diagnosis and treatment planning.
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