Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Molecular imaging with positron emission tomography is a powerful tool in bladder cancer management. In this review, we aim to address the current place of the PET imaging in bladder cancer care and offer perspectives on potential future radiopharmaceutical and technological advancements. Keywords: positron emission tomography, bladder cancer, 2-[18F]fluorodeoxy-D-glucose.
Bladder cancer BC is the 10th most diagnosed cancer globally, with more than , new cases and around , deaths in [ 1 ]. The most important risk factor for developing BC is tobacco smoking, followed by occupational exposure to aromatic amines. Patient with BC usually present with painless haematuria. The final diagnosis is made by a histological analysis of tissue resected during transurethral resection of the bladder tumor TURBT.
When it shows non-muscle invasive bladder cancer NMIBC , the disease can be managed with local treatments and tends to recur but is generally not life-threatening.
A systemic imaging work-up for metastatic disease is not needed in that case, except for a few patients with high-risk NMIBC.
The treatment of MIBC is evolving rapidly. Cisplatin-containing combination chemotherapy is the first-line standard in advanced or metastatic patients fit enough to tolerate cisplatin. Cisplatin-ineligible patients with programmed death-ligand 1 PD-L1 expression or those who progress after first-line chemotherapy can be treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors ICI.
