Department of Nuclear Medicine, Dr. Ziauddin Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan E-mail :
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2015;16(14):5599-605. doi: 10.7314/apjcp.2015.16.14.5599.
In oncology various imaging modalities play a crucial role in diagnosis, staging, restaging, treatment monitoring and follow up of various cancers. Stand-alone morphological imaging like computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provide a high magnitude of anatomical details about the tumor but are relatively dumb about tumor physiology. Stand-alone functional imaging like positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission tomography (SPECT) are rich in functional information but provide little insight into tumor morphology. Introduction of first hybrid modality PET/CT is the one of the most successful stories of current century which has revolutionized patient care in oncology due to its high diagnostic accuracy. Spurred on by this success, more hybrid imaging modalities like SPECT/CT and PET/MR were introduced. It is the time to explore the potential applications of the existing hybrid modalities, developing and implementing standardized imaging protocols and train users in nuclear medicine and radiology. In this review we discuss three existing hybrid modalities with emphasis on their technical aspects and clinical applications in oncology.
在肿瘤学领域，各种成像模态在各类癌症的诊断、分期、再分期、治疗监测及随访中发挥着关键作用。诸如计算机断层扫描（CT）和磁共振成像（MRI）等单独的形态学成像能提供关于肿瘤的大量解剖细节，但对肿瘤生理学了解相对较少。像正电子发射断层扫描（PET）和单光子发射断层扫描（SPECT）等单独的功能成像富含功能信息，但对肿瘤形态的洞察有限。首个混合模态PET/CT的引入是本世纪最成功的案例之一，因其高诊断准确性彻底改变了肿瘤学的患者护理。受此成功的激励，更多的混合成像模态如SPECT/CT和PET/MR被引入。现在是时候探索现有混合模态的潜在应用，制定并实施标准化成像方案，并对核医学和放射学领域的用户进行培训了。在本综述中，我们将讨论三种现有的混合模态，重点关注其技术方面以及在肿瘤学中的临床应用。
