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Purpose: Although multiple radiopharmaceuticals are currently available for sentinel node (SN) biopsy, 99mTc-tilmanocept is of particular interest due to its low molecular weight and specific binding capability for the mannose receptors of lymphatic reticuloendothelial cells. In the current systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to provide an update from a European expert panel on the performance of 99mTc-tilmanocept for SN biopsy. Methods: A systematic literature search of the PubMed/Medline and Embase databases was performed to identify studies on the use of 99mTc-tilmanocept for SN identification in oncological patients. The articles' methodological quality was assessed before inclusion. The pooled estimates of the pre-/intraoperative detection rates (DR; proportion of patients with ≥ 1 SN identified) and/or pN + sensitivity (SN + /pN + patients ratio), with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), were calculated for breast cancer, melanoma, and head and neck cancer. Results: Twenty-four articles were included in the systematic review, and twenty-one provided data for the meta-analysis. According to data availability, the 99mTc-tilmanocept-estimated pooled preoperative and intraoperative DRs were 0.94 (95%CI, 0.88-1.01) and 0.99 (0.98-1.00) for breast cancer, 0.98 (0.96-0.99) and 1.00 (0.99-1.00) for melanoma, and 0.97 (0.93-1.02) and 0.99 (0.96-1.01) for head and neck carcinoma. Finally, the pooled sensitivity for nodal metastasis in melanoma was 0.97 (95% CI, 0.92-1.03). Conclusion: 99mTc-tilmanocept is a promising radiotracer for SN mapping in patients with breast cancer, melanoma, or head and neck cancer. We strongly believe that multicenter trials are still needed to assess if 99mTc-tilmanocept is superior to other radiotracers used in clinical routine.

Background Point of injection scatter (SPI) confounds breast cancer sentinel lymph node detection. Round flat lead shields (FLSs) incompletely reduce SPI, requiring repositioning. We designed lead shields that reduce SPI and acquisition time. Methods Two concave lead shields, a semioval lead shield (OLS) and a semispherical lead alloy shield (SLS), were created with a SICNOVA JCR 1000 3D printer to cover the point of injection (patent no. ES1219895U). Twenty breast cancer patients had anterior and anterior oblique imaging, 5 minutes and 2 hours after a single 111 MBq nanocolloid in 0.2 mL intratumoral or periareolar injection. Each acquisition was 2 minutes. Absolute and normalized background corrected scatter counts (CSCs) and scatter reduction percentage (%SR) related to the FLS were calculated. Repositionings were recorded. Differences between means of %SR (t test) and between means of CSC (analysis of variance) with Holm multiple comparison tests were determined. Results Mean %SR was 91.8% with OLS and 92% using SLS in early images (P = 0.91) and 87.2%SR in OLS and 88.5% in late images (P = 0.66). There were significant differences between CSC using FLS and OLS (P < 0.001) and between FLS and SLS (P < 0.001), but not between OLS and SLS (P = 0.17) in early images, with the same results observed in delayed studies (P < 0.001 in relation to FLS and P = 0.1 between both curved lead shields). Repositioning was required 14/20 times with FLS, 4/20 times with OLS, and 2/20 times with SLS. Conclusions We designed 2 concave lead shields that significantly reduce the SPI and repositioning with sentinel lymph node lymphoscintigraphy.

PURPOSE Key to achieving better population-based outcomes for patients with lung cancer is the improvement of medical imaging and nuclear medicine infrastructure globally. This paper aims to outline why and spark relevant health systems strengthening. METHODS The paper synthesizes the global lung cancer landscape, imaging referral guidelines (including resource-stratified ones), the reliance of TNM staging upon imaging, relevant multinational health technology assessments, and precisely how treatment selection and in turn patient outcomes hinge upon imaging findings. The final discussion presents data on current global gaps in both diagnostics (including imaging) and therapies and how, informed by such data, improved population-based outcomes are tangible through strategic planning. RESULTS Imaging findings are central to appropriate lung cancer patient management and can variably lead to life-prolonging interventions and/or to life-enhancing palliative measures. Early-stage lung cancer can be treated with curative intent but, unfortunately, most patients with lung cancer still present at advanced stages and many patients lack access to both diagnostics and therapies. Furthermore, half of lung cancer cases occur in low- and middle-income countries. The role of medical imaging and nuclear medicine in lung cancer management, as outlined herein, may help inform strategic planning. CONCLUSION Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer worldwide. The essential role that medical imaging and nuclear medicine play in early diagnosis and disease staging cannot be overstated, pivotal in selecting the many patients for whom measurably improved outcomes are attainable. Prevention synergized with patient-centered, compassionate, high-quality lung cancer management provision mandate that strategic population-based planning, including universal health coverage strategies, should extend well beyond the scope of disease prevention to include both curative and noncurative treatment

The current health crisis caused by COVID-19 is a challenge for oncology treatment, especially when it comes to radiotherapy. Cancer patients are already known to be very fragile and COVID-19 brings about the risk of severe respiratory complications. In order to treat patients safely while protecting medical teams, the entire health care system must optimize the way it approaches prevention and treatment at a time when social distancing is key to stemming this pandemic. All indications and treatment modalities must be re-discussed. This is particularly the case for radiotherapy of bone metastases for which it is possible to reduce the number of sessions, the frequency of transport and the complexity of treatments. These changes will have to be discussed according to the organization of each radiotherapy department and the health situation, while medical teams must remain vigilant about the risks of complications of bone metastases, particularly spinal metastases. In this short piece, the members of the GEMO (the European Study Group of Bone Metastases) offer a number of recommendations to achieve the above objectives, both in general and in relation to five of the most common situations on radiation therapy for bone metastases.

Nuclear medicine has a central role in the diagnosis, staging, response assessment and long-term follow-up of neuroblastoma, the most common solid extracranial tumour in children. These EANM guidelines include updated information on I-123-mIBG, the most common study in nuclear medicine for the evaluation of neuroblastoma, and on PET/CT imaging with F-18-FDG, F-18-DOPA and Ga-68-DOTA peptides. These PET/CT studies are increasingly employed in clinical practice. Indications, advantages and limitations are presented along with recommendations on study protocols, interpretation of findings and reporting results.

Purpose & Methods Neuroendocrine neoplasms are a heterogenous group of tumours, for which nuclear medicine plays an important role in the diagnostic work-up as well as in the targeted therapeutic options. This guideline is aimed to assist nuclear medicine physicians in recommending, performing, reporting and interpreting the results of somatostatin receptor (SSTR) PET/CT imaging using Ga-68-DOTA-conjugated peptides, as well as F-18-DOPA imaging for various neuroendocrine neoplasms. Results & Conclusion The previous procedural guideline by EANM regarding the use PET/CT tumour imaging with Ga-68-conjugated peptides has been revised and updated with the relevant and recent literature in the field with contribution of distinguished experts., An erratum to this article is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-017-3807-0Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging (2017) 44: 2150Professor Anders Sundin’s name was not included among the authors’ list even though he contributed to the article with all the great efforts and valuable expertise on the field, which all of the authors of this article absolutely agree with and approve that his name should have been among the authors for this article.

Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the neckthorax-abdomen and pelvis, including 3-phase examination of the liver, constitutes the basic imaging for primary neuroendocrine tumor (NET) diagnosis, staging, surveillance, and therapy monitoring. CT characterization of lymph nodes is difficult because of inadequate size criteria (short axis diameter), and bone metastases are often missed. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including diffusion-weighted imaging is preferred for the examination of the liver, pancreas, brain and bone. MRI may miss small lung metastases. MRI is less well suited than CT for the examination of extended body areas because of the longer examination procedure. Ultrasonography (US) frequently provides the initial diagnosis of liver metastases and contrast-enhanced US is excellent to characterize liver lesions that remain equivocal on CT/MRI. US is the method of choice to guide the biopsy needle for the histopathological NET diagnosis. US cannot visualize thoracic NET lesions for which CTguided biopsy therefore is used. Endocopic US is the most sensitive method to diagnose pancreatic NETs, and additionally allows for biopsy. Intraoperative US facilitates lesion detection in the pancreas and liver. Somatostatin receptor imaging should be a part of the tumor staging, preoperative imaging and restaging, for which 68 Ga-DOTA-somatostatin analog PET/CT is recommended, which is vastly superior to somatostatin receptor scintigraphy, and facilitates the diagnosis of most types of NET lesions, for example lymph node metastases, bone metastases, liver metastases, peritoneal lesions, and primary small intestinal NETs. (18)FDG-PET/CT is better suited for G3 and high G2 NETs, which generally have higher glucose metabolism and less somatostatin receptor expression than low-grade NETs, and additionally provides prognostic information.

PURPOSE & METHODS: Neuroendocrine neoplasms are a heterogenous group of tumours, for which nuclear medicine plays an important role in the diagnostic work-up as well as in the targeted therapeutic options. This guideline is aimed to assist nuclear medicine physicians in recommending, performing, reporting and interpreting the results of somatostatin receptor (SSTR) PET/CT imaging using68Ga-DOTA-conjugated peptides, as well as18F-DOPA imaging for various neuroendocrine neoplasms.RESULTS & CONCLUSION: The previous procedural guideline by EANM regarding the use PET/CT tumour imaging with68Ga-conjugated peptides has been revised and updated with the relevant and recent literature in the field with contribution of distinguished experts.

Unfortunately, due to some indeliberate and inadvertent reasons, Professor Anders Sundin’s name was not included among the authors’ list even though he contributed to the article with all the great efforts and valuable expertise on the field, which all of the authors of this article absolutely agree with and approve that his name should have been among the authors for this article.Professor Sundin contributed to the article with a meticulous review and made valuable additions to the manuscript. Since Professor Sundin is a practising radiologist, his contribution to this guideline was mainly focused on a radiological perspective of PET/CT imaging of neuroendocrine neoplasms and upon his suggestion, some key points from a radiological point of view was added to the manuscript. Professor Sundin’s scientific contribution to this guideline was really very important and had a great impact given the fact that neuroendocrine tumors are aheterogenous group of neoplasms for which an utmost multidisciplinary approach is definitely warranted. Professor Sundin not only contributed to the article in a scientific way and from a radiologist’s perspective but he also had a great contribution by means of English-language editing, due to his personal interest in the English language. All of the authors specifically confirm that Professor Sundin was substantially involved in all of the steps during this work. Professor Sundin made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the work; to the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data for the work; and to drafting the work and revising it critically for important intellectual content. Therefore, upon his important contribution to this guideline with his great efforts and distinctive expertise in the field, and on behalf of all of the authors and with their approvals, I hereby state that Professor Sundin’s name should have been among the authors for this article.

The purpose of these guidelines is to assist physicians in recommending, performing, interpreting and reporting the results of FDG PET/CT for oncological imaging of adult patients. PET is a quantitative imaging technique and therefore requires a common quality control (QC)/quality assurance (QA) procedure to maintain the accuracy and precision of quantitation. Repeatability and reproducibility are two essential requirements for any quantitative measurement and/or imaging biomarker. Repeatability relates to the uncertainty in obtaining the same result in the same patient when he or she is examined more than once on the same system. However, imaging biomarkers should also have adequate reproducibility, i.e. the ability to yield the same result in the same patient when that patient is examined on different systems and at different imaging sites. Adequate repeatability and reproducibility are essential for the clinical management of patients and the use of FDG PET/CT within multicentre trials. A common standardised imaging procedure will help promote the appropriate use of FDG PET/CT imaging and increase the value of publications and, therefore, their contribution to evidence-based medicine. Moreover, consistency in numerical values between platforms and institutes that acquire the data will potentially enhance the role of semiquantitative and quantitative image interpretation. Precision and accuracy are additionally important as FDG PET/CT is used to evaluate tumour response as well as for diagnosis, prognosis and staging. Therefore both the previous and these new guidelines specifically aim to achieve standardised uptake value harmonisation in multicentre settings.