Nuclear imaging for functional evaluation and theragnosis in liver malignancy and transplantation.
Currently, nuclear imaging such as positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is increasingly used in the management of liver malignancy. (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET is the most widely used nuclear imaging in liver malignancy as in other cancers, and has been reported to be effective in diagnosis, response monitoring, recurrence evaluation, and prognosis prediction. Other PET imaging such as (11)C-acetate PET is also used complementarily to FDG-PET in diagnosis of liver malignancy. Additionally, image-based evaluation of regional hepatic function can be performed using nuclear imaging. Those imaging modalities are also effective for candidate selection, treatment planning, and perioperative evaluation in liver surgery and transplantation. Recently, nuclear imaging has been actively adopted in the transarterial radioembolization therapy of liver malignancy, according to the concept of theragnosis. With the development of new hybrid imaging technologies such as PET/magnetic resonance imaging and SPECT/CT, nuclear imaging is expected to be more useful in the management of liver malignancy, particularly regarding liver surgery and transplantation. In this review, the efficacy and roles of nuclear imaging methods in diagnosis, transplantation and theragnosis are discussed.
Jae Seon Eo, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul 136-701, South Korea.
Jae Seon
JS
Eo
Jae Seon Eo, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul 136-701, South Korea.
Jin Chul
JC
Paeng
Jae Seon Eo, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul 136-701, South Korea.
Dong Soo
DS
Lee
D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D018579:Patient Selection; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
Liver malignancy; Nuclear imaging; Positron emission tomography-computed tomography; Theragnosis; Transplantation