The use of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) for cancer imaging is a well-established and widely used molecular imaging modality both in clinical and research settings. PET offers the ability to quantitatively measure biological and receptor-based processes using a wide spectrum of specifically designed radiopharmaceuticals exploiting small molecule-, peptide-, antibody- and nanoparticle-based platforms.
One novel avenue of application is the PET and molecular imaging of serum biomarkers – allowing for a personalized medicine approach to be taken. One prominent shortcoming in oncology is a high frequency of false positive indications for malignant disease in upfront diagnosis. Because one common cause of false positivism is biomarker production from benign disorders in unrelated host tissues, we hypothesized that probing the site(s) of biomarker secretion with an imaging tool could be a broadly useful strategy to deconvolute the meaning of foreboding but inconclusive circulating biomarker levels.