Journal of nuclear medicine : official publication, Society of Nuclear Medicine
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Most anticancer drugs are effective only in subgroups of patients, and our current understanding of tumor biology does not allow us to predict accurately which patient will benefit from a specific therapeutic regimen. Various techniques have, therefore, been developed for monitoring tumor response to therapy, but measuring tumor shrinkage on CT represents the current standard. Although response assessment on CT has been refined over many years, fundamental limitations remain. ⋯ In a variety of solid tumors, single-center studies have indicated that (18)F-FDG PET may provide earlier or more accurate assessment of tumor response than CT, suggesting that (18)F-FDG PET could play a significant role in personalizing the treatment of malignant tumors. However, generally accepted criteria for response assessment in solid tumors are missing, which makes it frequently impossible to compare the results of different studies. International guidelines and criteria for response assessment by (18)F-FDG PET in solid tumors are, therefore, eagerly awaited.