Experimental and clinical application for lymph-node imaging

Exact assessment of lymph nodes is crucial to tumor staging, choice of ther apy and in predicting the outcome. Although imaging plays a central role in the evaluation of lymph nodes, current imaging methods have low sensitivit y and specificity primarily because they rely on insensitive morphological criteria or because they have low spacial resolution. Because of this diagn ostic dilemma invasive, expansive and uncomfortable diagnostic techniques a nd/or unnecessary aggressive therapies are still in use. This brief overvie w is intended to summarize current imaging strategies and to give an outloo k on experimental and clinical strategies in lymph node imaging in cancer.