PET imaging of hypoxia

Hypoxia in tumors has been related to poor response to conventional therapi es. This paper will discuss the methods, both invasive and non-invasive, us ed to determine hypoxia levels within tumors. PET imaging;with two lead com pounds F-18-fluoromisonidazole ((FMISO)-F-18) and Cu(II)-diacetyl-bis(N-4-m ethylthiosemicarbazone (Cu-ATSM) and their relative effectiveness in deline ating hypoxic regions will be discussed. The advantages of Cu-ATSM-PET over existing imaging agents will be discussed along with its potential applica tion as a direct-and/or surrogate marker for the determination of oncologic al hypoxia in vivo.