The role of new PET tracers for lung cancer

¹⁸ F-Fluorodeoxyglucose ( ¹⁸ F-FDG) positron emission tomography – computed tomography (PET/CT) is integral to the investigation and management of suspected or proven lung cancer despite the non-specific nature of the ¹⁸ F-FDG, which is a glucose analogue. An improved understanding in tumor biology and advances in therapeutic options has driven the need to better characterize tumors and predict and monitor treatment response to new targeted cancer therapies. Some of the cancer-related cellular processes being investigated include tumor proliferation, amino acid metabolism, tumor hypoxia and angiogenesis. The majority of tracers being used to evaluate these processes remain restricted to preclinical and clinical research. There are also certain receptors which are expressed by specific cancers which can then be targeted by peptides, e.g. neuroendocrine tumors express somatostatin receptors which have an affinity to somatostatin analogues such as DOTA-peptides. ⁶⁸ Ga-DOTA-peptides have an established role in PET imaging, including imaging of carcinoid tumors, but these are not specific to lung lesions.