Positron-emission tomography-guided radiation therapy: Ongoing projects and future hopes

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Medical Imaging
• Radiotherapy

Background:

• Radiation therapy has significantly advanced due to technical, computational, and imaging improvements.
• Imaging is crucial at all stages of radiation oncology: pre-treatment, during treatment, and post-treatment.
• Functional imaging, including nuclear imaging, plays a key role in defining target volumes and monitoring treatment efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review ongoing projects in nuclear imaging for oncology.
• To explore how these advancements can improve patient treatment in radiation oncology.
• To highlight the role of imaging in defining target volumes and patient monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Literature review conducted in August 2019 on Medline and ClinicalTrials.gov.
• Search terms included "Radiotherapy", "Radiation Oncology", and "PET-CT".
• Focus on organ-specific advancements and promising developments in nuclear imaging.

Main Results:

• Imaging guides target volume definition before treatment, enabling precise radiation delivery.
• Image-guidance during therapy ensures accurate tumor localization and adaptation to anatomical changes.
• Post-treatment imaging is essential for monitoring, considering radiation-induced tissue modifications.

Conclusions:

• Modern functional imaging, with improved definition and novel radiopharmaceuticals, enables more precise radiation treatments.
• Enhanced surveillance capabilities are offered through advanced imaging techniques.
• Nuclear imaging data can significantly inform artificial intelligence and "-omics" models for personalized oncology.