Molecular Imaging of Lung and Pleural Tumors

Thangalakshmi Sivathapandi, MD; Jaykanth Amalchandran, MD; Amol Takalkar, MD; Lance T. Hall, MD

doi:10.36255/molecular-imaging-of-lung-and-pleural-tumors

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Published: Nov 8, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36255/molecular-imaging-of-lung-and-pleural-tumors

Keywords:

lung cancer, molecular imaging, PET/CT, pleural tumor, pulmonary nodule

Thangalakshmi Sivathapandi, MD

Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Jaykanth Amalchandran, MD

Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Apollo Proton Cancer Center, Chennai, India

Amol Takalkar, MD

Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Lance T. Hall, MD

Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

ABSTRACT

The thorax has many important structures within, therefore a deep knowledge of its anatomy and developing a search pattern in thoracic imaging are critical in disease identification and characterization of disease. With the increase in clinical utilization of molecular imaging techniques, along with the continuous development of new radiopharmaceuticals, the role of molecular imaging and targeted radiotherapy of thoracic tumors is expanding. PET/CT and PET / MRI imaging play an imminent role in thoracic oncology such as pulmonary nodule evaluation, initial disease staging, therapy planning, response evaluation, and post treatment monitoring for disease recurrence. The purpose of this chapter is to give an overview of the various clinical uses, advantages, pitfalls, and advancements in molecular imaging and therapy of lung and pleural tumors.