Reston, VA (April 10, 2026)—New research has been published ahead-of-print by The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM). JNM is published by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, an international scientific and medical organization dedicated to advancing nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and theranostics—precision medicine that allows diagnosis and treatment to be tailored to individual patients in order to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Summaries of the newly published research articles are provided below.
Next-Generation Chelator Advances Cancer Imaging and Therapy
Scientists are developing tools for cancer imaging and therapy using radiopharmaceuticals. A new chelator, Dar3A, was designed to overcome limitations of the widely used DOTA, such as slow binding and heating requirements. Researchers compared performance, created a targeted tracer, and evaluated it in laboratory studies, animals, and early human testing.
Brain Activity on PET Scans May Signal Lung Cancer Survival
PET scans for advanced non–small cell lung cancer typically focus on tumors, but researchers examined brain activity instead. Analyzing patient data, they compared average brain glucose uptake with survival outcomes, alongside imaging features and blood markers, to assess whether this overlooked measure could help predict prognosis.
Tumor Receptors Persist After Targeted NET Therapy
A study of patients with neuroendocrine tumors examined how disease progresses after radioligand therapy. Researchers reviewed imaging and clinical data to track where tumors advanced and whether they retained somatostatin receptor activity, using PET scans to compare uptake levels and detect progression beyond conventional imaging.
Targeted PET Imaging Agent Aims to Improve Liver Cancer Detection
Researchers are developing a PET imaging agent targeting CD147, a protein often overexpressed in liver cancer. Using engineered nanobodies, they created and tested a radiotracer in lab models, evaluating its binding, stability, and ability to distinguish cancerous from normal tissue in preclinical imaging studies.
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