Potential of Molecular Imaging to Advance Molecular Medicine.
Molecular imaging is a technology that allows for non-invasive interrogation of physiological and biochemical processes in the body. Over the years, the use of Molecular Imaging is on the rise, especially towards diagnosing cancer and monitoring treatment. Molecular Imaging has a significant role to play at preclinical and translational stages in the field of Molecular Medicine.
Newer PET probes are being developed and being evaluated for their effectiveness in patient care and disease management. While this technology has tremendously benefitted the pre-clinical research, it has also become one of the indispensable tools in the clinic. In addition, now PET is proven to be quite helpful in expediting the drug development and discovery efforts. Over the last two decade, a significant progress is made towards expanding the role of Molecular Imaging.
It plays significant role in Oncology, Neurology, ageing, drug abuse, and cardiac applications. With increased acceptance of this modality in the clinics around the world, there is a growing interest in utilizing PET to target biological systems and to assess the outcome of certain treatments in patients.
This molecule phosphorylates and subsequently traps inside the cells and thus provides a measure of glucose utilization in a given tissue. Since this principle applies to many cellular processes, the role of FDG continued to grow beyond its original oncology applications. Encouraged from initial successes with F-18 FDG, newer PET probes were developed with primary focus to target.
Cancer Stud Mol Med Open J. 2017; 3(1): e3-e4. doi: 10.17140/CSMMOJ-3-e004
