title: Functional characterization of brain tumors: an overview of the potential clinical value.
abstract: Early detection and characterization are still challenging issues in the diagnostic approach to brain tumors. Among functional imaging techniques, a clinical role for positron emission tomography studies with [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose and for single photon emission computed tomography studies with [201Tl]-thallium-chloride has emerged. The clinical role of magnetic resonance spectroscopy is still being defined, whereas functional magnetic resonance imaging seems able to provide useful data for presurgical localization of critical cortical areas. Integration of morphostructural information provided by computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, with functional characterization and cyto-histologic evaluation of biologic markers, may assist in answering the open diagnostic questions concerning brain tumors.
authors.affiliation: Centro CNR Per La Medicina Nucleare, Università Degli Studi Federico II, Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brunetti
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Alfano
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soricelli
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tedeschi
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mainolfi
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Covelli
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aloj
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Panico
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bazzicalupo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salvatore
mesh_terms: D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon