Use of Radionuclide-Based Imaging Methods in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly occurring cancers in women globally and is the primary cause of cancer mortality in females. Thus, early and effective breast cancer diag-nosis is crucial for enhancing the survival rate. Current standard diagnostic techniques to assess the hormone receptor status in biopsies include immunohistochemistry and fluores-cence in situ hybridization. However, in recent years, there has been an increase in research on noninvasive techniques for molecular imaging of hormone receptors. These methods offer many advantages over conventional imaging, as repeated measurements can be used to capture heterogeneous tumor expression throughout the body, as well as trans-formations in receptor status during disease progression. Thus, the noninvasive method, as an adjunct to conventional imaging, offers the potential to improve patient selection, opti-mize dose and schedule, and streamline the assessment of response. Semin Nucl Med 52:561-573 (c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Breast cancer is a common and fatal cancer in women worldwide. Noninvasive molecular imaging techniques for hormone receptors have the potential to improve breast cancer diagnosis as an adjunct to conventional imaging, enhancing patient selection and treatment strategies.