Clinical molecular imaging and therapy—moving ahead together

Excerpt

Therapeutic interventions at the cellular and subcellular level are increasingly being implemented. While gene- and cell-based therapies have rapidly moved from experimental towards clinical applications, open issues continue to exist. Questions relating to the best route of delivery, safety, basic mechanisms of therapy and—most importantly—therapeutic efficacy in various settings still require unequivocal answers to facilitate progress. Although gene and cell therapies are not yet used on a routine basis, the work being done around the world will undoubtedly lead to these technologies becoming practical, safe and reliable. Just as many decades ago the use of radioactivity and radiopharmaceuticals on a daily basis would have seemed to many, the same is true of the application of some of these relatively new technologies. The editors are convinced that it is only a matter of time before these therapies become commonplace and that molecular imaging will be critical in this process. …