Clinical Use of PET/MR in Oncology: An Update

The combination of PET and MRI is one of the recent advances of hybrid imaging. Yet to date, the adoption rate of PET/MRI systems has been rather slow. This seems to be partially caused by the high costs of PET/MRI systems and the need to verify an incremental benefit In analogy to PET/CT, the MRI part of PET/MRI was primarily used for anatomical imaging. Though this can be advantageous, for example in diseases where the superior soft tissue contrast of MRI is highly appreciated, the sole use of MRI for anatomical orientation lessens the potential of PET/MRI. Consequently, more recent studies focused on its multiparametric potential and employed diffusion weighted sequences and other functional imaging sequences in PET/MRI. This integration puts the focus on a more wholesome approach to PET/MR imaging, in terms of releasing its full potential for local primary staging based on multiparametric imaging and an included one-stop shop approach for whole-body staging. This approach as well as the implementation of computational analysis, in terms of radiomics analysis, has been shown valuable in several oncological diseases, as will be discussed in this review article. Semin Nucl Med 52:356-364 (c) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The combination of PET and MRI in hybrid imaging has advanced in recent years. However, the adoption rate of PET/MRI systems has been slow, partly due to high costs and the need for verification of incremental benefits. Recent studies have focused on the multiparametric potential of PET/MRI, employing diffusion weighted sequences and other functional imaging sequences. This integration allows for a more comprehensive approach to PET/MR imaging, enabling local primary staging and whole-body staging in one-stop shop fashion.