Investigational PET tracers in neuro-oncology-What's on the horizon? A report of the PET/RANO group

Many studies in patients with brain tumors evaluating innovative PET tracers have been published in recent years, and the initial results are promising. Here, the Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) PET working group provides an overview of the literature on novel investigational PET tracers for brain tumor patients. Furthermore, newer indications of more established PET tracers for the evaluation of glucose metabolism, amino acid transport, hypoxia, cell proliferation, and others are also discussed. Based on the preliminary findings, these novel investigational PET tracers should be further evaluated considering their promising potential. In particular, novel PET probes for imaging of translocator protein and somatostatin receptor overexpression as well as for immune system reactions appear to be of additional clinical value for tumor delineation and therapy monitoring. Progress in developing these radiotracers may contribute to improving brain tumor diagnostics and advancing clinical translational research.

Automated summary

Many studies on innovative PET tracers in brain tumor patients have been published recently, showing promising initial results. The Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) PET working group provides an overview of the literature on these novel investigational PET tracers and discusses new indications of established PET tracers. Based on preliminary findings, further evaluation of these novel investigational PET tracers is recommended due to their potential in tumor delineation and therapy monitoring.