Radiologic screening and surveillance in hereditary cancers

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiology
• Medical Genetics

Background:

• Hereditary cancer syndromes are caused by germline mutations affecting multiple organ systems.
• Early cancer detection through radiologic screening is crucial for managing these syndromes.
• Current surveillance often employs whole-body imaging due to the widespread risk of neoplasms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review imaging screening and surveillance strategies for hereditary cancer syndromes.
• To highlight common neoplasms associated with these syndromes.
• To discuss multimodality imaging findings for early cancer identification.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on imaging surveillance in hereditary cancer syndromes.
• Focus on whole-body MRI and PET/CT protocols.
• Analysis of common neoplasms and their imaging characteristics.

Main Results:

• Imaging surveillance enables early detection of solid tumors in hereditary cancer syndromes.
• Whole-body MRI and PET/CT are effective for identifying neoplasms in diverse anatomic locations.
• Tailored organ-specific screening complements whole-body approaches.

Conclusions:

• Imaging surveillance is a vital component of patient management for hereditary cancer syndromes.
• Multimodality imaging plays a key role in detecting common neoplasms.
• Understanding imaging findings is essential for timely diagnosis and intervention.