Molecular Imaging in Oncology

With molecular imaging becoming one the fastest growing topics in medical schools, Informa Healthcare presents Molecular Imaging in Oncology, the first comprehensive reference on molecular imaging in oncology.

Giving clinicians and researchers a greater understanding of the current field, this text covers:

• instrumentation and techniques
• cancer imaging
• probe design
• molecular genetic imaging
• cellular processes
• clinical translation

Filled with over 500 images, of which more than 50 are in color, illustrating diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities of molecular imaging in cancer, this text outlines all procedures for radiologists, radiology physicists, and radiation oncologists in a concise, single-source guide.

With molecular imaging becoming one the fastest growing topics in medical schools, Informa Healthcare presents Molecular Imaging in Oncology, the first comprehensive reference on molecular imaging in oncology.

Giving clinicians and researchers a greater understanding of the current field, this text covers:

Filled with over 500 images, of which more than 50 are in color, illustrating diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities of molecular imaging in cancer, this text outlines all procedures for radiologists, radiology physicists, and radiation oncologists in a concise, single-source guide.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:J. Daniel Bourland, PhD, DABR(Wake Forest University School of Medicine)
Description:This is a well written and properly timed book that meets the editors' goals for a comprehensive presentation of molecular imaging for the study, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. Eight major sections cover basic science, physical techniques and instrumentation, contrast agents, including receptors and nanoparticles, small animal imaging, gene and cellular process imaging, clinical applications, and research and collaborations with industry and government.
Purpose:All imaging modalities are covered -- radionuclide, magnetic resonance, ultrasound, and optical imaging. Preclinical applications are emphasized, as appropriate, given molecular imaging's most common use for the noninvasive study of biological processes both in vitro and in small animals. The editors note that physicians will have a role in judging the worth of molecular imaging according to its impact on clinical care, but a variety of challenges must be met and these are presented as opportunities.
Audience:This 700-plus-page book is intended as a detailed reference for graduate-level students and others who want to incorporate molecular imaging in their scientific work. With 99 well chosen expert authors from academia, industry, and government writing 47 chapters, there are exceptional contributions throughout.
Features:Of interest for those in the physical sciences who are broadening their biomolecular understanding are chapters on tumor biology, molecular methods including "blots" and microarrays, SPECT physics, physiologic CT, design of SPECT radiopharmaceuticals, CEST contrast agents, and quantitative image analysis (e.g., physiological kinetics). In particular, a chapter on small animal handling, including anesthesia delivery, immobilization, and physiological monitoring, is very informative for physicists collaborating with biology colleagues. Other chapters are weighted toward biomolecular content covering, for instance, molecular imaging for protein-protein interactions, gene expression, cell trafficking, angiogenesis, and apoptosis. The book lacks a chapter on digital image analysis, but image acquisition and signal multiplication are addressed by both modality and applications. Some duplication of content occurs because particular modalities discuss applications, and particular applications discuss modalities, but these crossover presentations are helpful to readers since molecular imaging requires integrated physical-biological techniques. Black-and-white figures for instrumentation, processes, and molecular images are plentiful, with certain ones chosen for color plate presentation in slightly smaller size, grouped together in the middle of the book; full-size color would have been better, but cost may have been a limitation.
Assessment:I recommend this timely and high quality book for individuals who need a thorough survey of the current state of molecular imaging in cancer, including techniques, biology, preclinical and clinical applications, and opportunities. It will serve as a handy reference for biological explanations and will greatly aid physical science students and professionals in their understanding of molecular imaging in cancer, enabling new contributions and collaborations with biomedical colleagues in this exciting and still developing field.

MARTIN G. POMPER is Professor of Radiology, Director of the Small Animal Imaging Resource Program, and Associate Director of the In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry and M.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA. Dr. Pomper serves on the editorial boards of several publications and is currently Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Imaging. His research interests include the development of new probes and techniques for molecular imaging of cancer, focusing on radiopharmaceutical development and clinical translation. He is the immediate past president of the Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence of the SNM.

JURI G. GELOVANI is Professor and Chairman, Department of Experimental Diagnostic Imaging and Director, Center for Advanced Biomedical Imaging Research (CABIR) at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. in clinical Neurosurgery & Neuroimaging from the University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia. Prof. Gelovani is the pioneer of non-invasive molecular-genetic imaging using radiotracers. He is one of the co-founders of the field of modern molecular imaging. His research is dedicated to improving cancer detection and non-invasive molecular-genetic profiling, imaging-based selection of novel individualized anti-cancer therapies and monitoring their efficacy, including targeted small molecular and nanopartical based therapies, genetic and cellular therapies. He is leading the development of a premiere research program aimed at the discovery of novel and more specific chemical, genetic, and cellular tracers for imaging different tumor-specific targets, while continuing to mentor and teach graduate and postgraduate students. In 2008, Prof. Gelovani served as President of the Society for Molecular Imaging, which he had co-founded, and as the Organizer-in-Chief of the First Molecular Imaging Congress 2008.