{"title":"The Role of [18F]FDG PET/CT in Monitoring of Therapy Response in Lung Cancer","authors":"Akinwale Ayeni MBChB, MMed , Osayande Evbuomwan MBBS, PhD , Mboyo-Di-Tamba Willy Vangu MD, PhD","doi":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.002","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lung cancer remains a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with an all stage 5-year relative survival rate of less than 30%. Multiple treatment strategies are available and continue to evolve, with therapy primarily tailored to the type and stage of the disease. Accurate monitoring of therapy response is crucial for optimizing treatment outcomes. PET/CT imaging with [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG has become the standard of care across various phases of lung cancer management due to its ability to assess metabolic activity. This review underscores the pivotal role of [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT in evaluating therapy response in lung cancer, particularly in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It examines conventional response criteria and their adaptations in the era of immunotherapy, highlighting the value of integrating metabolic imaging with established criteria to improve treatment assessment and guide clinical decisions. The potential of non-[<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET tracers targeting diverse biological pathways to provide deeper insights into tumor biology, therapy response and predictive outcomes is also explored. Additionally, the emerging role of radiomics in enhancing treatment efficacy assessment and improving patient management is briefly highlighted. Despite the challenges in the routine clinical application of various metabolic response criteria, [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT remains a crucial tool in monitoring therapy response in lung cancer. Ongoing advancements in therapeutic strategies, radiopharmaceuticals, and imaging techniques continue to drive progress in lung cancer management, promising improved patient outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21643,"journal":{"name":"Seminars in nuclear medicine","volume":"55 2","pages":"Pages 175-189"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143531685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of [18F]FDG PET/CT Radiomics and Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Decision Making in Lung Cancer: Its Current Role","authors":"Alireza Safarian MD , Seyed Ali Mirshahvalad MD, MPH, FEBNM, FANMB , Hadi Nasrollahi MSc , Theresa Jung MD , Christian Pirich MD, PhD , Hossein Arabi PhD , Mohsen Beheshti MD, FEBNM, FASNC","doi":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.006","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lung cancer remains one of the most prevalent cancers globally and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, accounting for nearly one-fifth of all cancer fatalities. Fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT) plays a vital role in assessing lung cancer and managing disease progression. While traditional PET/CT imaging relies on qualitative analysis and basic quantitative parameters, radiomics offers a more advanced approach to analyzing tumor phenotypes.</div><div>Recently, radiomics has gained attention for its potential to enhance the prognostic and diagnostic capabilities of [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT in various cancers. This review explores the expanding role of [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT-based radiomics, particularly when integrated with artificial intelligence (AI), in managing lung cancer, especially non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).</div><div>We review how radiomics and AI improve diagnostics, staging, tumor subtype identification, and molecular marker detection, which influence treatment decisions. Additionally, we address challenges in clinical integration, such as imaging protocol standardization, feature reproducibility, and the need for extensive prospective studies. Ultimately, radiomics and AI hold great promise for enabling more personalized and effective lung cancer treatments, potentially transforming disease management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21643,"journal":{"name":"Seminars in nuclear medicine","volume":"55 2","pages":"Pages 156-166"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143573727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cedric Richlitzki MD , Farkhad Manapov MD , Adrien Holzgreve MD , Moritz Rabe PhD , Rudolf Alexander Werner MD , Claus Belka MD , Marcus Unterrainer MD, PhD , Chukwuka Eze MD
{"title":"Advances of PET/CT in Target Delineation of Lung Cancer Before Radiation Therapy","authors":"Cedric Richlitzki MD , Farkhad Manapov MD , Adrien Holzgreve MD , Moritz Rabe PhD , Rudolf Alexander Werner MD , Claus Belka MD , Marcus Unterrainer MD, PhD , Chukwuka Eze MD","doi":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.013","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.013","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the clinical management of lung cancer, radiotherapy remains a cornerstone of multimodal treatment strategies, often used alongside surgery or in combination with systemic therapies such as chemotherapy, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and immune checkpoint inhibitors. While conventional imaging modalities like computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) continue to play a central role in staging, response assessment, and radiotherapy planning, advanced imaging techniques, particularly [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT, are being increasingly integrated into routine clinical practice. These advanced techniques address the limitations of standard imaging by providing insight into molecular and metabolic tumor characteristics, enabling precise tumor visualization, accurate target volume delineation, and early treatment response assessment. This review examines the role of radiotherapy in the multidisciplinary management of lung cancer, detailing current concepts of morphological and functional imaging for staging and treatment planning. It also highlights the growing importance of PET-based radiotherapy planning, emphasizing its contributions to target volume definition and predictive value for treatment outcomes. Recent methodological advances, including the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), radiomics, technical innovations, and novel PET ligands, are discussed, highlighting their potential to improve the precision, efficacy, and personalization of lung cancer radiotherapy planning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21643,"journal":{"name":"Seminars in nuclear medicine","volume":"55 2","pages":"Pages 190-201"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143597702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Indraja D. Dev MD , Ameya D. Puranik DNB , Nikolaos A. Trikalinos MD , Bradley John Girod MD , Hyun Kim MD , Vikas Prasad MD
{"title":"Theranostics in Lung Neuroendocrine Tumors","authors":"Indraja D. Dev MD , Ameya D. Puranik DNB , Nikolaos A. Trikalinos MD , Bradley John Girod MD , Hyun Kim MD , Vikas Prasad MD","doi":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.010","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the last 2 decades, there has been a noticeable increase in the incidence of neuroendocrine tumors, in part due to improved understanding of pathology and/or availability of more sensitive and accurate diagnostic tests. While gastrointestinal tract and pancreas are the most common sites of origin, lung neuroendocrine tumors (LNETs) are also frequently reported and need special considerations from diagnostic as well as therapeutic aspects.</div><div>Radiopharmaceutical therapy (Theranostics) is a novel approach which utilizes a pair of diagnostic and therapeutic agents that share a common target on tumor sites. Precise treatment of the disease with minimum side effects is the principal aim of Theranostics.</div><div>It's a known fact that somatostatin receptors (SSTR) are abundantly expressed in neuroendocrine tumors. With the advent of highly specific radiopharmaceuticals targeting SSTR receptors for both diagnosis as well as treatment and other targeted therapies, management of LNETs has become less challenging. Still, there exists significant ambiguity in relation to management of LNETs with a scope of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to pitch in.</div><div>This review focuses on the role of established evidence for Theranostics strategies in the management of LNETs and highlights the potential future role of newer targets which would be of promising value in addressing such rare and complex tumor biology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21643,"journal":{"name":"Seminars in nuclear medicine","volume":"55 2","pages":"Pages 221-233"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143586789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Demystifying the Role of Immuno PET-CT in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Clinical Value and Research Trends","authors":"Sobhan Vinjamuri MD, Vineet Pant MD","doi":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.004","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The management of Lung cancer, especially non-small cell lung cancer has undergone a paradigm shift recently with the advent of new treatment approaches including focused radiotherapy as well as evolution of a newer class of immunotherapy agents. Treatment efficacy and survival rates have improved and it is now even more important that patients are selected for appropriate interventions on the basis of a comprehensive assessment including a range of imaging as well as in-vitro tests such as immunohistochemistry. A new class of tracers targeting programmed cell death such as PD1 and PDL1 (broadly classed as Immuno PET) are being increasingly used in the molecular characterisation of patients deemed resistant to standard treatment approaches and being considered for additional interventions such as immunotherapy. In this review, we review the latest evidence in the field and propose a summary of clinical usefulness and provide a review of the research trends in this exciting and evolving field.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21643,"journal":{"name":"Seminars in nuclear medicine","volume":"55 2","pages":"Pages 212-220"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143524308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chabi Sathekge MD , Justine Maes MD , Alex Maes MD, PhD , Christophe Van de Wiele MD, PhD
{"title":"FDG PET/CT for Staging Lung Carcinoma: An Update","authors":"Chabi Sathekge MD , Justine Maes MD , Alex Maes MD, PhD , Christophe Van de Wiele MD, PhD","doi":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.01.002","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.01.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) carcinoma, the CT-part of the FDG PET/CT examination is of primary importance for T (tumor)-status assessment, while information derived from the primary tumor on the FDG-part of the examination may provide additional information on N- (lymph node) status. FDG PET/CT imaging was shown to have an overall sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 84% for identifying LN involvement in NSCLC. Parameters that may predict the presence and quantify the risk of LN-involvement in NSCLC missed on FDG PET/CT imaging are tumor size and its increase over time, tumor differentiation degree, the number of days elapsed from the time of initial diagnosis, an adenocarcinoma subtype, a central versus peripheral location of the primary tumor and a solid versus mixed solid-ground glass radiologic character. Nomograms incorporating several of these variables have been published and made available for clinical usage. Furthermore, FDG PET/CT imaging was shown to have an overall higher sensitivity for identifying extra-thoracic metastases than convential morphological imaging and this especially for bone and adrenal lesions. In small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), limited available data have shown FDG PET/CT imaging to be systematically more accurate for staging purposes when compared to conventional staging and to lead to a change in disease stage (limited versus extensive disease) in up to 15% of SCLC-patients.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21643,"journal":{"name":"Seminars in nuclear medicine","volume":"55 2","pages":"Pages 167-174"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143537669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anne-Leen Deleu MD , Qaid Ahmed Shagera MD, PhD , Sophie Veldhuijzen van Zanten MD, PhD , Patrick Flamen MD, PhD , Olivier Gheysens MD, PhD , Hubertus Hautzel MD, PhD
{"title":"FAPI PET in the Management of Lung Tumors","authors":"Anne-Leen Deleu MD , Qaid Ahmed Shagera MD, PhD , Sophie Veldhuijzen van Zanten MD, PhD , Patrick Flamen MD, PhD , Olivier Gheysens MD, PhD , Hubertus Hautzel MD, PhD","doi":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.011","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fibroblast activation protein (FAP), selectively expressed on activated fibroblasts in proliferating tissues, is emerging as a promising target in oncology. In lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT has set the bar high and earned widespread recognition in clinical guidelines for its essential role in staging and follow-up. Yet, FAP-targeted imaging agents like FAPI PET/CT have demonstrated significant potential due to their high tumor specificity, rapid tracer uptake, and low background activity. This review focuses on the role of FAPI PET/CT in lung cancer, highlighting its applications in staging, biomarker evaluation, and clinical management. FAP expression correlates with cancer associated fibroblast-driven tumorigenesis in lung cancer, showing higher expression in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) than in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) subtypes. Studies reveal that FAPI PET/CT provides comparable or superior detection rates for primary tumors and metastases compared to [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT, particularly in brain, pleural, and bone lesions. It also enhances accuracy in lymph node staging, influencing disease management by enabling surgical resection in cases misclassified by [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT. Despite these advantages, several challenges remain, such as differentiating benign from malignant lesions, assessing FAPI's prognostic implications or its role in treatment response monitoring. Future directions include exploring FAPI-based theranostics, standardizing radiopharmaceuticals, and conducting well-designed, adequately powered prospective trials. FAPI PET/CT represents a transformative diagnostic tool, complementing or potentially surpassing [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT in precision lung cancer care.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21643,"journal":{"name":"Seminars in nuclear medicine","volume":"55 2","pages":"Pages 202-211"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143557439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Current and Future Perspective of PET/CT in Response Assessment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma","authors":"Manar Badarna MD , Zohar Keidar MD, PhD , Elite Arnon-Sheleg MD","doi":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.001","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare but aggressive cancer characterized by its unique growth patterns, presenting substantial diagnostic challenges. With the shift toward immunotherapy for MPM treatment, assessing therapeutic responses has become increasingly complex. Recent studies indicate that FDG PET/CT may provide more effective response criteria compared to traditional CT-based methods. This review emphasizes the important role of PET/CT in offering deep insights into the disease state and monitoring treatment responses. It also addresses the challenges associated with current imaging criteria, particularly the nonspecificity of FDG uptake that may represent inflammatory responses following treatments or procedures rather than tumor activity. Furthermore, the review discusses the potential of emerging radiopharmaceuticals and advanced volumetric assessments, discussing their implications for improving diagnostic accuracy and treatment evaluation in MPM.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21643,"journal":{"name":"Seminars in nuclear medicine","volume":"55 2","pages":"Pages 252-263"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143531624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tugce Telli MD , Mélanie Desaulniers MD, FRCPC , Thomas Pyka MD , Federico Caobelli MD, FEBNM , Sophia Forstmann MD , Lale Umutlu MD , Wolfgang P. Fendler MD , Axel Rominger MD , Ken Herrmann MD, MBA , Robert Seifert MD, MBA
{"title":"What Role Does PET/MRI Play in Musculoskeletal Disorders?","authors":"Tugce Telli MD , Mélanie Desaulniers MD, FRCPC , Thomas Pyka MD , Federico Caobelli MD, FEBNM , Sophia Forstmann MD , Lale Umutlu MD , Wolfgang P. Fendler MD , Axel Rominger MD , Ken Herrmann MD, MBA , Robert Seifert MD, MBA","doi":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2023.11.004","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2023.11.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><span>Musculoskeletal disorders<span> of nononcological origin are one of the most frequent reasons for consultation. Patients suffering from musculoskeletal disorders also consult more than once for the same reason. This results in multiple clinical follow-ups after several radiological and serum examinations, the main ones including X-rays targeting the painful anatomical region and inflammatory serum parameters. As part of their work up, patients suffering from musculoskeletal disorders often require multisequence, multi-parameter MRI. PET/MRI is a promising imaging modality for their diagnosis, with the added advantage of being able to be performed in a single visit. PET/MRI is particularly useful for diagnosing osteomyelitis, </span></span>spondylodiscitis<span>, arthritis, many pediatric pathologies<span>, and a wide range of other musculoskeletal pathologies. PET/MRI is already used to diagnose malignant bone tumors such as osteosarcoma. However, current knowledge of the indications for PET/MRI in nononcological musculoskeletal disorders is based on studies involving only a few patients. This review focuses on the usefulness of PET/MRI for diagnosing nononcological musculoskeletal disorders.</span></span></div></div>","PeriodicalId":21643,"journal":{"name":"Seminars in nuclear medicine","volume":"55 2","pages":"Pages 277-289"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138478517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fawziah Alorfi MD , Jamshed Bomanji MD, PhD , Linda Bertoletti MD , Francesco Fraioli MD
{"title":"PET/MRI in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)","authors":"Fawziah Alorfi MD , Jamshed Bomanji MD, PhD , Linda Bertoletti MD , Francesco Fraioli MD","doi":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.009","DOIUrl":"10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2025.02.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounting for 80%-85% of cases. Accurate imaging is critical for staging, treatment planning, and follow-up. While CT and PET/CT are standard imaging modalities, PET/MR is a relatively new and promising radiation free technique combining the potentiality of MRI with the metabolic information of PET scans, allowing undeniable advantages including: superior contrast resolution, particularly in soft tissues; functional information through specific MRI sequences (eg, diffusion-weighted and perfusion sequences), reflecting changes at a cellular level; and more superior sensitivity compared to CT and PET/CT for detecting metastases in common metastatic sites such as the brain, liver, adrenal glands, and bone. These advantages position PET/MR as a valuable tool in comprehensive lung cancer staging. While it is not yet a routine clinical tool, ongoing advancements in imaging technology, protocol optimization, and large-scale studies may establish PET/MR as a key component in the personalized management of lung cancer.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21643,"journal":{"name":"Seminars in nuclear medicine","volume":"55 2","pages":"Pages 234-239"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143573731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}