Imaging in Oncology

Introduction

The field of medical imaging includes a wide variety of techniques that allow direct visualization of anatomy and provide insights into physiologic, metabolic, and pathological processes within the human body. Imaging plays a role in all aspects of oncology, from primary cancer diagnosis (including screening) to cancer staging, treatment planning, treatment response assessment, and long-term follow-up. Technical advances in recent decades have broadly expanded the number of imaging modalities used in routine clinical practice in oncology and have allowed structural information to be combined with functional information regarding tumor biology and metabolism. Furthermore, significant developments in molecular imagingare opening new horizons in preclinical cancer detection and personalized, targeted cancer therapy. Each imaging modality has specific advantages and limitations with regard to each cancer type and site. Therefore, it is important – though often challenging –...