RESTON, Va. -- "A Clinician's Guide to Nuclear Oncology: Practical Molecular Imaging and Radionuclide Therapies" -- a practical guide to the use of diagnostic imaging and nuclear therapy to help cancer patients -- is now available from SNM, the world's largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals. Types of cancer covered include lung, breast and prostate cancer, lymphoma, melanoma, soft tissue sarcomas and many others.

This book is an essential resource-especially for internists and family and general practitioners-given that an estimated 1.4 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year in the United States. Readers will learn which molecular imaging tests to order, how the tests are performed, the advantages and limitations to these tests compared to other modalities and how to prepare patients for these exams. The authors summarize indications and applications of molecular imaging and nuclear medicine. Information is also provided on nuclear medicine therapies and available radionuclide therapeutic options (when these options should be considered, what to expect from treatment, and what, if any, are the radiation risks for patients and their families).

To enhance easy readability and practical clinical orientation, chapters are arranged by tumor type. A "highlights" section opens each chapter, followed by section headings including "Epidemiology," "Advances in Nuclear Imaging," "Staging and Prognosis," "Diagnostic Nuclear Medicine Scans and Primary Clinical Indications" and "Radiopharmaceuticals." An "On the Horizon" section in each chapter covers new options that may soon be available for diagnosis and/or therapy. The 206-page softcover book includes descriptions of procedures, patient preparation, explanations of the resulting report, and an examination of the treatment and impact nuclear medicine has on patient management. Case presentations are used to illustrate applications of nuclear imaging for some of the more common malignancies, and the costs of various imaging and treatment options are included.
"This book is written for clinicians who take care of patients with cancer," say co-authors Naomi P. Alazraki, Mark J. Shumate and David A. Kooby. They noted, "As nuclear medicine procedures comprise a major portion of what has become known as 'molecular imaging,' the reader will be able to appreciate the morphing of imaging as we know it to 'molecular' and the practical applications of molecular imaging."

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