Advances in molecular and immuno-PET imaging: applications in cancer and autoimmune diseases

Contemporary PET imaging has transitioned from a metabolic approach largely dominated by [¹⁸F]FDG to a multifaceted molecular platform encompassing a spectrum of target‑specific tracers. These include both clinically approved molecular imaging agents as well as emerging probes targeting key immunologic and stromal components of the tumor microenvironment. Immuno‑PET, achieved by conjugating monoclonal antibodies or their engineered derivatives with positron‑emitting radionuclides, enables sensitive, quantitative, and noninvasive characterization of immune cell populations, cytokine activity, and checkpoint expression across the entire body.Integrating innovations in radionuclide production, bioengineering of antibody scaffolds, and total‑body PET imaging technologies has dramatically improved spatial and temporal resolution as well as tracer kinetics modeling. These methodological advances have expanded the clinical application of Immuno‑PET beyond oncology into chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, allowing characterization of pathological immune trafficking and tissue‑specific inflammation.This research topic will highlight recent translational and clinical progress in molecular and Immuno‑PET imaging, with particular attention to its roles in immunotherapy response evaluation, toxicity monitoring, and immune‑targeted probe development. We invite original research articles, reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and perspectives that address one or more of the following thematic areas:• Immuno-PET for characterization of immune cell populations, checkpoint expression, and cytokine signaling in cancer• Molecular imaging for prediction and monitoring of immunotherapy response and resistance• PET-based assessment of immune-related adverse events and treatment-associated toxicity• Immuno-PET in autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases• Development and translational validation of immune-targeted PET probes• Whole-body imaging of immune trafficking, tissue-specific inflammation, and stromal–immune interactionsPlease note that manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by robust and relevant validation (clinical cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this Research Topic.Please note that Prof Keon Kang is founder of Clichembio and Prof Akram Al-ibraheem received research funding from Novartis. Topic editors: Ahmed Saad Abdlkadir, Keon Wook Kang, Akram Al-Ibraheem Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79385/advances-in-molecular-and-immuno-pet-imaging-applications-in-cancer-and-autoimmune-diseases