Applications of PET/CT in Clinical Diagnostics

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Imaging and Theranostics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 13 November 2025 | Viewed by 529

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
Interests: F-18; fluorodeoxyglucose; PET/CT imaging; oncology; radiotracers beyond F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose; clinical diagnostics

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre Delhi, New Delhi, India
Interests: molecular imaging; theranostics; tracers beyond FDG

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), a fused imaging tool, efficiently combines functional (metabolic) and anatomical (morphologic) information simultaneously. The most frequently used radiotracer for PET/CT imaging is deoxy-2-[18 F] fluoro-D-glucose (F-18 FDG), a glucose analog with a fluorine isotope (F-18) replacing the hydroxyl group. This radiotracer shows increased uptake in tumor cells due to increased anaerobic glycolysis (Warburg effect). The F-18 FDG PET/CT, with its unique ability to highlight tumor cells, plays a pivotal role in clinical diagnostics in oncology. It is a milestone of neoplasm diagnostic algorithms for detection, staging, treatment response evaluation, restaging, and prognosis.

In addition to PET CT using 18-F FDG, which is the workhorse in day-to-day practice, multiple other tracers have been developed and are used routinely. A few examples of these tracers are F-18 Fluoroestradiol (FES) which is used to image ER +ve breast cancer, Ga-68 DOTANOC/DOTATOC, used to image SSTR receptors, Ga-68/F-18 PSMA used in prostate cancer, and the most recent example, -68 FAPI, which images the tumour microenvironment. Unlike 18-F FDG, which looks into the glucose utilisation in various tumours, each of these above-mentioned radiopharmaceuticals look into the specific aspects in various tumours and can be used in detection, staging, response evaluation, restaging and prognostication.

Prof. Dr. Jasna M. Mihailovic
Dr. Partha S Choudhury
Guest Editors

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 short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics 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 2600 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

  • F-18
  • fluorodeoxyglucose
  • PET/CT imaging
  • oncology
  • radiotracers beyond F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose
  • clinical diagnostics

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

14 pages, 586 KiB  
Article
[18F]-FDG PET-CT in Malignant Melanoma
by Teodora Sidonia Mititelu, Mihaela Raluca Mititelu, Sandica Bucurica and Daniel Octavian Costache
Diagnostics 2025, 15(10), 1192; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15101192 - 8 May 2025
Viewed by 262
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Malignant melanoma (MM) is an aggressive neoplasm with a rising global incidence. Accurate staging and risk stratification are essential for guiding therapeutic decisions and improving patient prognosis. [18F]-FDG PET-CT enables the non-invasive assessment of tumor metabolic activity, offering a valuable adjunct [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Malignant melanoma (MM) is an aggressive neoplasm with a rising global incidence. Accurate staging and risk stratification are essential for guiding therapeutic decisions and improving patient prognosis. [18F]-FDG PET-CT enables the non-invasive assessment of tumor metabolic activity, offering a valuable adjunct to histopathological evaluation. However, the correlation between PET-CT findings and established prognostic markers in MM, such as Breslow thickness, ulceration, and mitotic rate, remains insufficiently explored. Methods: This retrospective observational study included 61 patients diagnosed with MM, of whom 48 met the inclusion criteria. Quantitative and qualitative variables such as SULmax, Breslow thickness, Ki-67 expression, and mitotic rate were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while correlations between PET-CT findings, SLNB, and histopathological characteristics were assessed using Spearman’s correlation test. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Significant associations were identified between ulceration and both overall metastases (p = 0.01) and pulmonary metastases (p = 0.02). Breslow thickness showed a positive correlation with metastatic spread (p = 0.01), reinforcing its role as a key prognostic indicator. Perineural and vascular invasion were significantly associated with intra-abdominal metastases (p < 0.001 and p = 0.0007, respectively). Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were inversely correlated with intra-abdominal metastases (p = 0.05), while sentinel lymph node positivity correlated with the presence of regional (p = 0.008) and distant (p = 0.02) metastases. Additionally, subcutaneous SULmax values were significantly higher in male patients compared to females (p = 0.04). Conclusions: Integrating PET-CT metabolic parameters with histopathological markers enhances the assessment of MM aggressiveness and metastatic potential. By refining risk stratification, PET-CT may contribute to personalized therapeutic strategies and improved patient management in MM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of PET/CT in Clinical Diagnostics)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop