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Updates in Cancer Imaging: PET/CT, MRI and Beyond

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Methods and Technologies Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2027 | Viewed by 122

Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The role of imaging in the diagnosis, staging, treatment response assessment and follow-up of oncological diseases is well established and continues to evolve rapidly. Beyond its diagnostic value, imaging provides crucial prognostic information that can influence therapeutic decision-making and contribute to the development of personalized treatment strategies.

For many years, conventional imaging modalities such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging have represented the cornerstone of cancer evaluation due to their ability to provide detailed anatomical and morphological information. More recently, hybrid imaging techniques, particularly positron emission tomography/computed tomography, have gained an increasingly important role in the management of a wide range of malignancies by combining anatomical and functional data. Furthermore, the introduction of novel radiotracers has expanded the applications of molecular imaging, allowing the investigation of multiple biological and metabolic pathways involved in cancer development and progression.

At the same time, continuous technological advances in magnetic resonance imaging, the emergence of positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging, the integration of artificial intelligence and the growing field of radiomics and imaging biomarkers are opening new perspectives for cancer characterization, prognosis prediction and treatment monitoring.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide an updated overview of current and emerging imaging techniques in oncology, including positron emission tomography/computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, hybrid imaging, radiomics, artificial intelligence applications and other innovative approaches. Particular attention will be devoted to the clinical impact, advantages, limitations and future developments of these modalities across different oncological settings, fostering a comprehensive discussion on the evolving landscape of cancer imaging.

Dr. Francesco Dondi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • positron emission tomography/computed tomography
  • computed tomography
  • MR
  • conventional imaging
  • positron emission tomography
  • neoplasm
  • cancer

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

24 pages, 707 KB  
Review
Role of CXCR4 PET Imaging for the Evaluation of Gliomas: A Comprehensive Literature Review
by Francesco Dondi, Pietro Bellini, Michela Cossandi, Roberto Rinaldi, Luca Camoni, Francesca Tomasoni, Massimo Statuto, Gian Luca Viganò and Francesco Bertagna
Cancers 2026, 18(16), 2657; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18162657 - 17 Aug 2026
Abstract
C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4)-targeted positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracers have recently emerged as promising molecular imaging tools for glioma evaluation because of their negligible physiological uptake in normal brain tissue and their ability to non-invasively assess CXCR4 expression. This narrative review [...] Read more.
C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4)-targeted positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracers have recently emerged as promising molecular imaging tools for glioma evaluation because of their negligible physiological uptake in normal brain tissue and their ability to non-invasively assess CXCR4 expression. This narrative review summarizes the current evidence regarding their clinical applications in glioma imaging. a literature review was performed to identify clinical studies investigating CXCR4-targeted PET in glioma patients. The available evidence, although limited and heterogeneous, indicates that CXCR4-targeted PET tracers can provide high lesion-to-background contrast because of their minimal physiological uptake in normal brain tissue. Tracer uptake tends to be higher in high-grade gliomas, although correlations with histopathological CXCR4 expression and established prognostic biomarkers have been inconsistent. Preliminary studies have explored potential applications in tumor visualization, differentiation of recurrence from treatment-related changes, distinction between glioblastoma and primary central nervous system lymphoma, treatment response assessment, and radiotherapy planning. These findings require validation in larger prospective multicenter cohorts. CXCR4-targeted PET is an emerging molecular imaging approach that may provide complementary information in glioma assessment. However, the available evidence remains preliminary, and larger prospective multicenter studies are required to validate its diagnostic and clinical utility, standardize imaging and quantification protocols, and determine its role in routine neuro-oncological practice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Updates in Cancer Imaging: PET/CT, MRI and Beyond)
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