Trends in nuclear medicine and the radiopharmaceutical sciences in oncology: workforce challenges and training in the age of theranostics.

Although the promise of radionuclides for the diagnosis and treatment of disease was recognised soon after the discovery of radioactivity in the late 19th century, the systematic use of radionuclides in medicine only gradually increased over the subsequent hundred years. The past two decades, however, has seen a remarkable surge in the clinical application of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, particularly in oncology. This development is an exciting time for the use of theranostics in oncology, but the rapid growth of this area of nuclear medicine has created challenges as well. In particular, the infrastructure for the manufacturing and distribution of radiopharmaceuticals remains in development, and regulatory bodies are still optimising guidelines for this new class of drug. One issue of paramount importance for achieving equitable access to theranostics is building a sufficiently trained workforce in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries. Here, we discuss the key challenges and opportunities that face the field as it seeks to build its workforce for the 21st century.

Combining Nuclear Medicine With Other Modalities: Future Prospect for Multimodality Imaging.

This meeting report summarizes a consultants meeting that was held at International Atomic Energy Agency Headquarters, Vienna, in July 2022 to provide an update on the development of multimodality imaging by combining nuclear medicine imaging agents with other nonradioactive molecular probes and/or biomedical imaging techniques.

Expert consensus on the safety prevention and control of nuclear medicine diagnosis and treatment during the outbreak of COVID-19 (1st edition): (translated from Chinese version).

In December 2019, an infectious disease caused by a new type of coronavirus infection was prevalent in Wuhan and across the country. On January 20, 2020, the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China issued No.1 Announcement, which incorporated the novel coronavirus pneumonia into the Class B infectious disease according to the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease, but the disease should be adopted in the management of Class A infectious disease. In order to effectively control the source of infection, cut off the transmission route, protect the susceptible population, ensure the medical quality and medical safety, perform epidemic prevention and control, and comprehensively guarantee the life safety and physical health of medical staff, patients, and family members, it is very important to organize and carry out nuclear medicine diagnosis and treatment scientifically and safely. According to the national prevention and control policy, Chinese Society of Nuclear Medicine and editorial board of the Chinese Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging organized professionals to formulate the expert consensus on the safety prevention process of nuclear medicine imaging and nuclide therapy during the period of new coronavirus infection.

Theranostic Advances in Breast Cancer in Nuclear Medicine.

The implication of 'theranostic' refers to targeting an identical receptor for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, by the same radioligand, simultaneously or separately. In regard to extensive efforts, many considerable theranostic tracers have been developed in recent years. Emerging evidence strongly demonstrates the tendency of nuclear medicine towards therapies based on a diagnosis. This review is focused on the examples of targeted radiopharmaceuticals for the imaging and therapy of breast cancer.

Advances in Radiopharmaceutical Sciences for Vascular Inflammation Imaging: Focus on Clinical Applications.

Biomedical imaging technologies offer identification of several anatomic and molecular features of disease pathogenesis. Molecular imaging techniques to assess cellular processes in vivo have been useful in advancing our understanding of several vascular inflammatory diseases. For the non-invasive molecular imaging of vascular inflammation, nuclear medicine constitutes one of the best imaging modalities, thanks to its high sensitivity for the detection of probes in tissues. 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose ([18F]FDG) is currently the most widely used radiopharmaceutical for molecular imaging of vascular inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis and large-vessel vasculitis. The combination of [18F]FDG and positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has become a powerful tool to identify and monitor non-invasively inflammatory activities over time but suffers from several limitations including a lack of specificity and avid background in different localizations. The use of novel radiotracers may help to better understand the underlying pathophysiological processes and overcome some limitations of [18F]FDG PET for the imaging of vascular inflammation. This review examines how [18F]FDG PET has given us deeper insight into the role of inflammation in different vascular pathologies progression and discusses perspectives for alternative radiopharmaceuticals that could provide a more specific and simple identification of pathologies where vascular inflammation is implicated. Use of these novel PET tracers could lead to a better understanding of underlying disease mechanisms and help inform the identification and stratification of patients for newly emerging immune-modulatory therapies. Future research is needed to realize the true clinical translational value of PET imaging in vascular inflammatory diseases.

A quick glance at selected topics in this issue.

"A quick glance at selected topics in this issue" aims to highlight contents of the Journal and provide a quick review to the readers.

Nuclear cardio-oncology: From its foundation to its future.

Cardio-oncology is a growing field focused on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease in oncologic patients. While a major focus of chemotherapy-related cardiac dysfunction has been on left ventricular ejection fraction, oncologic treatment can lead to cardiovascular pathology in a variety of ways. The use of multimodality imaging is essential to the care of these patients, with nuclear cardiology playing an important role. We will review nuclear cardiology's history, its current role, and its promising future in cardio-oncology and the management of these patients.

Theranostics in Nuclear Medicine: Emerging and Re-emerging Integrated Imaging and Therapies in the Era of Precision Oncology.

Theranostics refers to the pairing of diagnostic biomarkers with therapeutic agents that share a specific target in diseased cells or tissues. Nuclear medicine, particularly with regard to applications in oncology, is currently one of the greatest components of the theranostic concept in clinical and research scenarios. Theranostics in nuclear medicine, or nuclear theranostics, refers to the use of radioactive compounds to image biologic phenomena by means of expression of specific disease targets such as cell surface receptors or membrane transporters, and then to use specifically designed agents to deliver ionizing radiation to the tissues that express these targets. The nuclear theranostic approach has sparked increasing interest and gained importance in parallel to the growth in molecular imaging and personalized medicine, helping to provide customized management for various diseases; improving patient selection, prediction of response and toxicity, and determination of prognosis; and avoiding futile and costly diagnostic examinations and treatment of many diseases. The authors provide an overview of theranostic approaches in nuclear medicine, starting with a review of the main concepts and unique features of nuclear theranostics and aided by a retrospective discussion of the progress of theranostic agents since early applications, with illustrative cases emphasizing the imaging features. Advanced concepts regarding the role of fluorine 18-fluorodeoxyglucose PET in theranostics, as well as developments in and future directions of theranostics, are discussed. ©RSNA, 2020 See discussion on this article by Greenspan and Jadvar.

Current trends in pediatric nuclear medicine: a Society for Pediatric Radiology membership survey.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric nuclear medicine is evolving, and its practice patterns are uncertain. Knowledge of the current trends in pediatric nuclear medicine might be helpful to direct local decisions, including expectations for patient care, needs for capital acquisitions, and staffing recruitment strategies. OBJECTIVE: To provide data regarding the current practice of pediatric nuclear medicine via a Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR) membership survey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The SPR emailed our 25-question survey to all 1,847 SPR members in August 2018 and we accepted responses until April 2019. Questions focused on nuclear medicine staffing, positron emission tomography (PET) utilization, and radiotherapy availability. Respondents could indicate their affiliated hospital, which we used for data cataloguing only. Analysis of survey responses was blinded to reported institution. We analyzed response data using contingency tables. Independence testing between categorical variables based on proportions of physicians with additional nuclear medicine board certification was performed on a subset of questions regarding PET and therapy practices. RESULTS: Sixty-seven people from at least 29 hospitals responded to the survey, including all 10 of the 2018-2019 U.S. News & World Report best children's hospitals. The majority (48/67, 71.6%) of respondents indicated that pediatric nuclear medicine examinations were interpreted in the pediatric radiology department by pediatric radiologists and that most physicians interpreting the exams (43/67, 64.2%) did not have subspecialty certification in nuclear medicine or nuclear radiology. Most facilities offered PET/CT (57/67, 85.1%); few offered PET/MRI (12/67, 17.9%). Most facilities offered radiotherapies (57/67, 85.1%) but at most of these facilities (30/57, 52.6%), fewer than half the physicians who cover nuclear medicine were approved to administer therapies. In the subset analyses based on proportion of physicians with additional nuclear medicine board certification, there were statistically significant differences between the groups in availability of PET/MRI, lutetium-177 dotatate therapy programs, and percentages of physicians approved to administer therapies. CONCLUSION: Pediatric nuclear medicine is largely practiced by pediatric radiologists without subspecialty certification. Staffing, PET practices and therapies vary among practices, in part associated with the number of radiologists with nuclear medicine board certification.

A new era for nuclear medicine.

The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time. Health care systems globally are amid an unprecedented challenge. Since its emergence in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, the virus has spread to 185 countries worldwide, with more than 2.63 million cases confirmed and more than 183 thousand related deaths (as of 23/04/2020). According to current evidence, the novel coronavirus is transmitted from human-to-human mainly via respiratory droplets of different sizes, contact with bodily fluids, or from contaminated surfaces. In the context of COVID-19, airborne transmission may be possible in specific circumstances and settings in which procedures that generate aerosols are performed. The common clinical symptoms of the highly pathogenic and large-scale epidemic virus include fever, cough, fatigue, ageusia and anosmia and in some patients, gastrointestinal infection symptoms. The elderly and patients with comorbidities are susceptible to infection and prone to severe complications, which may be associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and cytokines storm. Currently, there are few specific antiviral strategies, but several potent candidates of antivirals and repurposed drugs are under urgent investigation. Under these circumstances, it is critical for health care settings, including nuclear medicine departments to take infection control measures, to prevent a potential spread not just among patients but also to staff members as well as to reconsider the performance of randomized clinical trials. There have already been papers on the radiology preparedness that should be applied to radiology and nuclear medicine departments to support the care of patients with COVID-19 and maintain radiologic diagnostic and interventional support for the entirety of the hospital and healthcare system, particularly for emergencies, without jeopardizing an outbreak in the units. Since most nuclear medicine diagnostic and therapeutic interventions are non-urgent, the general guidance from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for infection prevention and control is to postpone scheduled procedure after cautious risk assessment, with certain exceptions. Individualized approach of each case is a sine qua non of ensuring low transmission of COVID-19 as well as effective and safe management of patients admitted to nuclear medicine departments. Another major issue raised is the possible impact COVID-19 on the transport of medical radioisotopes. By the 1st of April 2020, the Euratom Supply Agency (ESA) co-chaired the European Observatory on Supply of Medical Radioisotope expressing their concerns related to the impact of COVID-19 on the supply chain and inconsequence on the availability of the most vital medical radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine. Due to the current lockdown situation, extended border controls, reductions and elimination of many commercial passenger flights, competition and cost of cargo and charter options, required appropriate additional support. The new era of nuclear medicine practice worldwide coincides with a new era for the Hellenic Society of Nuclear Medicine (HSNM) and the Hellenic Journal of Nuclear Medicine (HJNM). The founder and Editor in Chief for more than 28 consecutive years, Professor Emeritus Philip Grammaticos, resigned leaving behind a benchmark for the presidencies and editors to come. His commitment to the conservation of a high level of scientific excellence of the published papers is the legacy which we wish to maintain in the future publications. The interim Editor in Chief of the current issue, would like to express her gratitude to Professor Emeritus Philip Grammaticos for his contribution to the global scientific community as well as to the incoming Editor in Chief Konstantinos Anagnostopoulos, MD, PhD, FRCP, FESC for accepting this new role. We wholeheartedly welcome the new Editor in Chief and the new members of the Editorial Board, wishing them an active, attentive and successful mandate. Hellenic Journal of Nuclear Medicine will remain true to the set principles, values and past and prepared to cope with future challenges in the scientific and clinical setting.

A quick glance at selected topics in this issue.

"A quick glance at selected topics in this issue" aims to highlight contents of the Journal and provide a quick review to the readers.

A quick glance at selected topics in this issue.

"A quick glance at selected topics in this issue" aims to highlight contents of the Journal and provide a quick review to the readers.

Selection of abstracts from the scientific sessions of The Society Of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging annual meeting Anaheim CA.

This mini-review highlights cardiovascular studies that were presented during the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) 2019 annual meeting in Anaheim, California. The aim is to provide the readers insight to noteworthy studies related to the fields of nuclear cardiology presented during the conference. Although cardiovascular applications of positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are not the primary focus of the SNMMI, several scientific teams working in this field presented their latest findings in Anaheim. While this review is directed to the benefit of those who were not able to attend the annual meeting, we believe that a general overview may also be useful for those who did attend as it is often difficult to get exposure to all the high-quality abstracts presented at this large conference.

Leveraging latest computer science tools to advance nuclear cardiology.

Nuclear cardiology has unique advantages compared to other modalities, since the image analysis is already much more automated compared to what is currently clinically performed for CT, MR, or echocardiography imaging. The diverse image and clinical data available to assess coronary disease function, perfusion, flow, and associated CT data provide new opportunities, but logistically these additional assessments increase the overall complexity of SPECT/PET reporting, necessitating additional expertise and time. The advances in artificial intelligence software can be leveraged to obtain comprehensive risk predictions and diagnoses from all available data. They will allow nuclear cardiology to retain competitive edge compared to other modalities and improve its overall clinical utility. These tools will enhance diagnosis and risk prediction beyond what is possible by subjective visual analysis and mental integration of data by physicians.

Advanced cardiovascular imaging for the evaluation of cardiac sarcoidosis.

Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) remains an intriguing infiltrating disorder and one of the most important forms of inflammatory cardiomyopathy. Identification of patients with CS is of extreme importance because they are at higher risk of sudden death, and heart-failure progression. And while it remains a diagnostic conundrum, a great amount of experience has been accumulated over the last decade with the advent of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and cardiac magnetic resonance with late gadolinium enhancement imaging. They have both proven to be advanced imaging techniques that provide important, and often complementary, diagnostic and prognostic information for the management of CS. However, they have also shown to have limitations, and, thus, there is a continued need for developing more specific imaging probes for identifying cardiac inflammation. The aim of the present manuscript is to provide the reader with a better understanding of the histopathology of the disease, how this potentially relates to noninvasive imaging detection, and the best strategies available for the diagnosis and management of patients with CS.

Multi-modality imaging: Bird's eye view from the 2018 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

This review summarizes key imaging studies that were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2018 in Chicago related to the fields of nuclear cardiology (including single photon emission computed tomography and positron emission tomography), cardiac computed tomography, cardiac magnetic resonance, and echocardiography. The aim of this bird's eye view is to inform readers of the various studies discussed at the meeting from these imaging modalities. While this review is directed to the benefit of those of us who were not able to attend the conference, we find that a general overview may also be useful to those that did since it is often difficult to get exposure to all abstracts at large meetings. Further, we hope that the presentation of multiple imaging studies in a single synthesized review will stimulate new ideas for future research in imaging.

Advances in imaging instrumentation for nuclear cardiology.

Advances in imaging instrumentation and technology have greatly contributed to nuclear cardiology. Dedicated cardiac SPECT cameras incorporating novel, highly efficient detector, collimator, and system designs have emerged with the expansion of nuclear cardiology. Solid-state radiation detectors incorporating cadmium zinc telluride, which directly convert radiation to electrical signals and yield improved energy resolution and spatial resolution and enhanced count sensitivity geometries, are increasingly gaining favor as the detector of choice for application in dedicated cardiac SPECT systems. Additionally, hybrid imaging systems in which SPECT and PET are combined with X-ray CT are currently widely used, with PET/MRI hybrid systems having also been recently introduced. The improved quantitative SPECT/CT has the potential to measure the absolute quantification of myocardial blood flow and flow reserve. Rapid development of silicon photomultipliers leads to enhancement in PET image quality and count rates. In addition, the reduction of emission-transmission mismatch artifacts via application of accurate time-of-flight information, and cardiac motion de-blurring aided by anatomical images, are emerging techniques for further improvement of cardiac PET. This article reviews recent advances such as these in nuclear cardiology imaging instrumentation and technology, and the corresponding diagnostic benefits.

The need for standardization of nuclear cardiology reporting and data system (NCAD-RADS): Learning from coronary artery disease (CAD), breast imaging (BI), liver imaging (LI), and prostate imaging (PI) RADS.

Newer structured reporting manners, the reporting and data system (RADS), have made vast steps in improving standardized and structured reporting, allowing better communication between radiologists and referring providers. This has been implemented in several fields: breast (BI-RADS), lung (Lung-RADS), liver (LI-RADS), thyroid (TI-RADS), prostate (PI-RADS), and in cardiovascular radiology (CAD-RADS). The field of nuclear cardiology began its efforts of standardization years ago; however, a widespread standardized reporting structure has not yet been adopted. Such an approach in nuclear cardiology, the nuclear cardiology reporting and data system (NCAD-RADS), will assist radiologists and treating clinicians in conveying and understanding reports and determining the appropriate next steps in management. By linking explicit findings to defined recommendations, patients will receive more consistent and appropriate care.

Radiation dose in nuclear medicine: the hybrid imaging.

Hybrid imaging procedures such as single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) showed a rapid diffusion in recent years because of their high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy, due to a more accurate localization and definition of scintigraphic findings. However, hybrid systems inevitably lead to an increase in patient radiation exposure because of the added CT component. Effective doses due to the radiopharmaceuticals can be estimated by multiplying the administered activities by the effective dose coefficients, while for the CT component the dose-length product can be multiplied by a conversion coefficient k. However, the effective dose value is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and must be interpreted as a broad, generic estimate of biologic risk. Although the effective dose can be used to estimate and compare the risk of radiation exposure across multiple imaging techniques, clinicians should be aware that it represents a generic evaluation of the risk derived from a given procedure to a generic model of the human body. It cannot be applied to a single individual and should not be used for epidemiologic studies or the estimation of population risks due to the inherent uncertainties and oversimplifications involved. Practical ways to reduce radiation dose to patients eligible for hybrid imaging involve adjustments to both the planning phase and throughout the execution of the study. These methods include individual justification of radiation exposure, radiopharmaceutical choice, adherence to diagnostic reference levels (DLR), patient hydration and bladder voiding, adoption of new technical devices (sensitive detectors or collimators) with new reconstruction algorithms, and implementation of appropriate CT protocols and exposure parameters.