Imaging inflammatory lesions by radiolabelled peptides and antibodies

Nuclear medicine techniques for imaging inflammation have had huge progress and have enormously expanded over the past 20 years. In this monography we have focused mainly on the contribution and the role of molecular nuclear medicine to detect early phases of chronic inflammation by the use of radiolabeled peptides and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Even though there is not one single ideal radiopharmaceutical for imaging all chronic inflammatory diseases, a combination of a few of them could be used for the complete understanding of the histopathology and, therefore, to identify a specific and tailored cure. Moreover those novel tools can detect cell bound and the presence of cytokines in inflammatory sites in patients suspected on an inflammatory condition based on laboratory tests. It can also demonstrate active inflammation in patients without systemic inflammatory response and can predict response to treatment. Today clinicians have the possibility to choose between different options according to the purpose and clinical requirements, from radiolabeled cytokines and monoclonal antibodies to radiolabeled somatostatin receptors for diagnostic purposes and for treatment decisions.