Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the
sixth most common cancer among
men and the ninth among women, and its prognosis is closely correlated
with metastasis. Targeted therapy and immunotherapy are the main adjuvant
treatments for advanced RCC and require early diagnosis, precise assessment,
and prediction of the therapeutic responses. Current conventional
imaging methods of RCC only provide structural information rather
than biological processes. Noninvasive diagnostic tools are therefore
needed to image RCC early and accurately at the molecular level. Nuclear
medicine imaging combines the high sensitivity of radionuclides with
the high resolution of structural imaging to visualize the metabolic
processes and specific targets of RCC for more accurate and reliable
diagnosis, staging, prognosis prediction, and response assessment.
This review summarizes the most recent applications of nuclear medicine
receptor imaging and metabolic imaging in RCC and highlights future
development perspectives in the field.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease. The histopathological changes in AD include amyloid β‐protein (Aβ) deposition, tau tangles, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration. Some of the pathological changes could be shown in vivo by positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers, which play a key role in diagnosing AD. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG‐PET) can reflect and predict dysfunction. Aβ‐PET is sensitive for the diagnosis of early AD but cannot distinguish the severity of AD. Tau‐PET can compensate for the deficiency of Aβ‐PET. Tau tangles are positively correlated with the severity of AD and associated with cognitive impairment. Probes targeting neuroinflammation in AD have been developed, but further study is needed to validate their effectiveness. Conventional MRI performs high tissue contrast that can show structural changes and has been routinely applied in clinical practice, such as in the evaluation of cerebral atrophy. Advanced MRI sequences (such as diffusion tensor imaging, arterial spin labeling, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, blood oxygenation level dependent, and quantitative susceptibility mapping) can provide additional information beyond structure that includes brain microstructure, blood perfusion, metabolite concentration, brain activity, connections and networks between brain regions, iron deposition, etc. Integrated PET and MRI may improve the diagnostic efficiency of AD.
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