Diagnostics

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Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Diagnostic tests serve the purpose of screening, diagnosis of disease, staging, treatment planning, treatment success monitoring, and long-term follow-up. They can be standalone tests that form the basis for patient treatment planning or part of a combined test-treatment regime that is evaluated against the current standard. The evaluation of diagnostic tests comprises early technical and methodological investigations (proof-of-concept) and diagnostic accuracy studies (assessing sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values), followed by change in management studies (does the modality influence treatment choice?) and patient outcome studies that investigate the modality’s effectiveness on patient-related outcomes such as overall or progression-free survival.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to support the exchange of preclinical, clinical, and scientific information for the nuclear medicine and molecular imaging community, including allied professions involved in the functional, metabolic, and molecular investigation of disease. Welcome types of submissions include original articles, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, expert opinion papers, and interesting images. A clear indication of how a contribution contributes to patient benefit is highly encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Oke Gerke
Dr. Rudolf A. Werner
Dr. Gabriele Masselli
Prof. Dr. Abass Alavi
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

cancer
cardiovascular imaging
computed tomography
molecular imaging
neuroimaging
positron emission tomography (PET)
single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)
response evaluation

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 8167 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Functional FDG-PET: Measurement of Task Related Neural Activity in Humans—A Compartment Model Approach and Comparison to fMRI

by Saga Steinmann Madsen, Svend Hvidsten and Thomas Lund Andersen

Diagnostics 2023, 13(19), 3121; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13193121 - 04 Oct 2023

Viewed by 1439

Abstract

Neuroimaging holds an essential position in global healthcare, as brain-related disorders are a substantial and growing burden. Non-degenerative disorders such as stress, depression and anxiety share common function related traits of diffuse and fluctuating changes, such as change in brain-based functions of mood, behavior and cognitive abilities, where underlying physiological mechanism remain unresolved. In this study we developed a novel application for studying intra-subject task-activated brain function by the quantitative physiological measurement of the change in glucose metabolism in a single scan setup. Data were acquired on a PET/MR-scanner. We implemented a functional [¹⁸F]-FDG PET-scan with double boli-tracer administration and finger-tapping activation, as proof-of-concept, in five healthy participants. The [¹⁸F]-FDG data were analyzed using a two-tissue compartment double boli kinetic model with an image-derived input function. For stand-alone visual reference, blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI) was acquired in the same session and analyzed separately. We were able to measure the cerebral glucose metabolic rate during baseline as well as activation. Results showed increased glucose metabolic rate during activation by 36.3–87.9% mean 62.0%, locally in the peak seed region of M1 in the brain, on an intra-subject level, as well as very good spatial accuracy on group level, and localization compared to the BOLD fMRI result at subject and group level. Our novel method successfully determined the relative increase in the cerebral metabolic rate of glucose on a voxel level with good visual association to fMRI at the subject-level, holding promise for future individual clinical application. This approach will be easily adapted in future clinical perspectives and pharmacological interventions studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging)

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Review

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17 pages, 1616 KiB

Open AccessReview

Nuclear Medicine and Cancer Theragnostics: Basic Concepts

by Vasiliki Zoi, Maria Giannakopoulou, George A. Alexiou, Penelope Bouziotis, Savvas Thalasselis, Andreas G. Tzakos, Andreas Fotopoulos, Athanassios N. Papadopoulos, Athanassios P. Kyritsis and Chrissa Sioka

Diagnostics 2023, 13(19), 3064; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13193064 - 26 Sep 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1766

Abstract

Cancer theragnostics is a novel approach that combines diagnostic imaging and radionuclide therapy. It is based on the use of a pair of radiopharmaceuticals, one optimized for positron emission tomography imaging through linkage to a proper radionuclide, and the other bearing an alpha- or beta-emitter isotope that can induce significant damage to cancer cells. In recent years, the use of theragnostics in nuclear medicine clinical practice has increased considerably, and thus investigation has focused on the identification of novel radionuclides that can bind to molecular targets that are typically dysregulated in different cancers. The major advantages of the theragnostic approach include the elimination of multi-step procedures, reduced adverse effects to normal tissues, early diagnosis, better predictive responses, and personalized patient care. This review aims to discuss emerging theragnostic molecules that have been investigated in a series of human malignancies, including gliomas, thyroid cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, cholangiocarcinoma, and prostate cancer, as well as potent and recently introduced molecular targets, like cell-surface receptors, kinases, and cell adhesion proteins. Furthermore, special reference has been made to copper radionuclides as theragnostic agents and their radiopharmaceutical applications since they present promising alternatives to the well-studied gallium-68 and lutetium-177. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging)

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