Advances in PET/CT for Predicting Cancer Outcomes

A special issue of Current Oncology (ISSN 1718-7729).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 868

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Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Interests: nuclear medicine; radiology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this new Special Issue focused on “Advances in PET/CT for Predicting Cancer Outcomes”. Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death globally, and accurate outcome prediction plays a critical role in optimizing oncologic management. Over the past two decades, PET imaging has made a significant impact by offering a whole-body assessment of viable tumor burden, which is essential for prognosis, therapy planning, and follow-up.

Recent innovations in PET/CT—such as novel target-specific radiotracers and enhanced imaging resolution—have further strengthened its role in clinical oncology, as reflected in NCCN guidelines across various cancer types. Despite these advancements, ongoing research is needed to refine the use of PET/CT in the context of emerging treatments like immunotherapy and PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy. On a molecular level, a deeper understanding of radiotracer uptake mechanisms is also crucial for clinical translation.

This Special Issue will spotlight the evolving role of PET/CT in cancer outcome prediction, with an emphasis on radiomics, theranostic radionuclide pairs, and machine learning approaches. We also welcome submissions exploring PET applications in novel therapeutic settings such as CAR T-cell therapy, as well as its use in rare tumor types.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Cancers.

Dr. Ahmad Shariftabrizi
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • FDG PET/CT
  • PSMA PET/CT
  • dotatate PET/CT
  • tumor heterogeneity
  • radiomics
  • CAR T-cell therapy
  • rare tumors
  • radiogenomics
  • immunotherapy
  • targeted therapy
  • PET physics
  • radiotracer metabolism

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 1598 KB  
Article
Predicting Tumor Recurrence with Early 18F-FDG PET-CT After Thermal and Non-Thermal Ablation
by Govindarajan Narayanan, Nicole T. Gentile, Brian J. Schiro, Ripal T. Gandhi, Constantino S. Peña, Susan van der Lei and Madelon Dijkstra
Curr. Oncol. 2025, 32(9), 521; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol32090521 - 18 Sep 2025
Viewed by 701
Abstract
The purpose was to determine the ability of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET-CT) scans performed within 24 h of percutaneous image-guided ablation of primary and metastatic malignancies to predict ablation effectiveness and local tumor progression (LTP). This single-center retrospective review included [...] Read more.
The purpose was to determine the ability of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET-CT) scans performed within 24 h of percutaneous image-guided ablation of primary and metastatic malignancies to predict ablation effectiveness and local tumor progression (LTP). This single-center retrospective review included patients who underwent image guided ablation (microwave ablation (MWA), cryoablation, or irreversible electroporation (IRE)) between August 2018 and February 2024 for primary and metastatic malignancies. The primary outcome measure encompassed correlating post-ablation 18F-FDG PET-CT findings with LTP development per tumor, assessed using the chi-square test. The secondary outcome measure was local tumor progression-free survival (LTPFS) per tumor, evaluated using the Kaplan–Meier survival curves, and potential confounders were identified in multivariable analysis utilizing Cox proportional hazards regression models. A total of 132 patients, who underwent 159 procedures for 224 tumors, were included. During follow-up, LTP developed in 120 out of 224 tumors (53.6%). The presence of residual nodular 18F-FDG avidity on PET-CT within 24 h after the ablation significantly correlated with the development of LTP at follow-up imaging (p < 0.001). The positive predictive value of nodular 18F-FDG avidity was 86.7%. In multivariable analysis, the hazard ratio (HR) for 18F-FDG avidity was 2.355 (95% CI 1.614–2.647; p < 0.001). The presence of 18F-FDG avidity on PET-CT within 24 h after the ablation was highly correlated with development of LTP and decreased LTPFS. The detection of residual tumor tissue may allow early re-treatments, especially in tumors with nodular uptake, contributing to increased LTPFS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in PET/CT for Predicting Cancer Outcomes)
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