The contribution of hybrid imaging to radionuclide therapy

Radionuclide therapy is a rapidly evolving field considered a safe and effective targeted approach to treating many types of cancer. Radiation is systemically or locally delivered using pharmaceuticals that either bind preferentially to cancer cells or accumulate at the site of treatment by physiological mechanisms. Almost all radionuclides used in radionuclide therapy emit photons that can be imaged, enabling non-invasive visualisation of the biodistribution of the therapeutic agent. The combination of functional imaging in nuclear medicine (SPECT, PET) with anatomical imaging in CT, in what is referred to as hybrid imaging, provides undoubted diagnostic value. After many decades of little growth, a dramatic increase in radiotherapeutics heralds what is promising to be a step change in this area of cancer management.

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