RESUMO
Molecular imaging is the visualization of specific molecular targets or its entire metabolic pathways and cells in the clinic or in living animals, especially for cancer diagnosis. Current molecular imaging techniques allow us to detect disease much earlier, to stage cancer much more accurately and noninvasively. Molecular imaging has grown to include nuclear imaging, ultrasound, and MR imaging. Hybrid techniques such as PET/CT, SPECT/CT, PET/MRI, and fluorescence imaging also have been included in molecular imaging. Hybrid imaging actually brings together all the information that is necessary for clinical diagnosis of cancer. PET/CT is a hybrid nuclear imaging technique that has been widely adopted by radiologists in oncology practice. The success of combining PET with CT imaging is due to not only the benefits of functional imaging but also an effective anatomic correlation with computed tomography.
