Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (760 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
An imaging technique using compounds labelled with short-lived positron-emitting radionuclides (such as carbon-11, nitrogen-13, oxygen-15 and fluorine-18) to measure cell metabolism. It has been useful in study of soft tissues such as cancer; cardiovascular system; and brain. single-photon emission-computed tomography is closely related to positron emission tomography, but uses isotopes with longer half-lives and resolution is lower.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Positron Emission Tomography; PET Imaging; Imaging, PET; PET Imagings; Positron-Emission Tomography Imaging; Imaging, Positron-Emission Tomography; Positron Emission Tomography Imaging; Positron-Emission Tomography Imagings.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Tomography, Emission-Computed
- Narrower topics
- Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography
Related concepts
- Neoplasms
- Cardiovascular System
- Single-Photon Emission-Computed Tomography
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 94,981 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Positron-Emission Tomography” (counts retrieved 2026-11-04). 33,987 of them (35.8%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 47,340 records.
Reviews account for 14,316 records (15.1%) and meta-analyses for 1,166. Randomized controlled trials number 1,163 (1.2%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 0 |
| 2000-2009 | 15,240 |
| 2010-2019 | 47,340 |
| 2020 onward | 33,987 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 14,316 | 15.1% |
| Meta-analyses | 1,166 | 1.2% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 1,163 | 1.2% |
Method: PubMed query "Positron-Emission Tomography"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-11-04.
Reading the evidence in diagnostics and medical technology
A test or device is judged by how well it detects a condition, how often it gives false alarms or misses cases, and whether using it improves outcomes for people. Accuracy depends on who is tested and how common the condition is, so a test that performs well in a specialist hospital can perform differently in the community. Check the reference standard, the population studied, the sensitivity and specificity and whether results were confirmed in a separate group.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comparison of [18F]flortaucipir and [18F]MK6240 for the detection of tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease (HEAD): a multicentre, prospective, cross-sectional, within-participant study | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 6 | cc by PMID 42208563 · DOI · PMC13656316 |
| A Whole-Body PSMA-PET/CT dataset with manually annotated tumor lesions | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 4 | cc by PMID 42432027 · DOI · PMC13354788 |
| Exploratory FDG PET/CT Imaging in mCRPC Patients Treated with Sipuleucel-T ± IL-7: A Phase II Trial Subanalysis | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42278652 · DOI · PMC13257278 |
Comparison of [18F]flortaucipir and [18F]MK6240 for the detection of tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease (HEAD): a multicentre, prospective, cross-sectional, within-participant study [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BackgroundTau PET imaging has emerged as a critical biomarker for Alzheimer's disease, informing diagnosis, staging, and therapeutic selection.
- Closing excerpt
- FundingNational Institute on Aging.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (343 words)
BackgroundTau PET imaging has emerged as a critical biomarker for Alzheimer's disease, informing diagnosis, staging, and therapeutic selection. We investigated whether PET tracer selection alters tau detection.MethodsWe conducted a prospective, multicentre, non-randomised, within-participant comparison of [18F]flortaucipir (Tauvid), currently used in clinical settings in the USA and Europe, and [18F]MK6240, an investigational tau PET tracer. Participants were recruited from eight north American sites and underwent tau PET, amyloid-β (Aβ) PET, and detailed cognitive assessments. Tau PET with both agents was acquired within a 45-day window. Coprimary outcomes were the discriminative accuracy for Alzheimer's disease-related cognitive impairment and the frequency of tau positivity in early medial temporal lobe (MTL) and late neocortical regions. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05361382.FindingsBetween March 2, 2022, and Aug 27, 2025, 775 individuals were enrolled, with 682 completing all procedures (373 [55%] female, 309 [45%] male; 38 [6%] aged 19-27 years, 214 [31%] aged 50-65 years, and 430 [63%] aged 65-89 years). 32 (5%) participants identified as Hispanic or Latino. 637 (93%) identified as White, 24 (4%) as Black or African American, 16 (2%) as Asian, and five (1%) as other. In addition, 49 (7%) individuals were identified as being from a rural area. [18F]MK6240 showed greater accuracy than [18F]flortaucipir in distinguishing Alzheimer's disease from non-Alzheimer's disease impairment (area under the curve 0·93, 95% CI 0·89-0·95 vs 0·86, 0·75-0·91; p18F]MK6240 identified twice as many MTL-positive cases as [18F]flortaucipir (n=54 [15%] vs n=23 [6%]). Prevalence ratio in Aβ-positive was 2·43 (95% CI 1·50-3·94; p=0·0003), identifying 23 additional cases per 100. Among discordant cases, 75 (89%) were [18F]MK6240-positive only and had higher Aβ burden (p18F]MK6240 than with [18F]flortaucipir in cognitively impaired individuals (80 [28%] vs 46 [16%]). Prevalence ratio in Aβ-positive was 1·74 (95% CI 1·32-2·29; pInterpretationTau PET tracer selection influences the frequency of detection of tau pathology across the ageing and Alzheimer's disease spectrum. Compared with [18F]flortaucipir, [18F]MK6240 identified more individuals with tau pathology in cognitively unimpaired and cognitively impaired individuals, with direct implications for patient stratification in clinical trials and more precise guidance for therapeutic decision-making.FundingNational Institute on Aging.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42208563 · DOI · PMC13656316
A Whole-Body PSMA-PET/CT dataset with manually annotated tumor lesions [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- We describe a publicly available, large, annotated dataset of 597 whole-body Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) studies with Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA)-targeting radiotracers ([18 F]PSMA and [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11) from 378 male patients with suspected or diagnosed prostate carcinoma.
- Closing excerpt
- Together with a previously published whole-body Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET/CT dataset, this dataset was provided in the Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention Society (MICCAI) registered autoPET III and IV Grand Challenges to enable the development of multi-tracer machine learning models for automated lesion segmentation in whole-body PET/CT.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (183 words)
We describe a publicly available, large, annotated dataset of 597 whole-body Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) studies with Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA)-targeting radiotracers ([18 F]PSMA and [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11) from 378 male patients with suspected or diagnosed prostate carcinoma. Scans were acquired between 2014 and 2022 on three clinical PET/CT scanners. The imaging protocol consisted of PET and diagnostic CT acquisitions extending from the skull base to the mid-thigh. All PSMA-expressing tumor lesions were manually segmented on the PET images in 3D space using dedicated software. The dataset includes anonymized DICOM files of all PET/CT studies, corresponding DICOM segmentation masks, and a TSV file with patient age, PET/CT manufacturer and model name, PET radionuclide, and information on whether CT contrast agent was used. We demonstrate how this dataset can be used for deep learning-based automated analysis of PET/CT. Together with a previously published whole-body Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET/CT dataset, this dataset was provided in the Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention Society (MICCAI) registered autoPET III and IV Grand Challenges to enable the development of multi-tracer machine learning models for automated lesion segmentation in whole-body PET/CT.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42432027 · DOI · PMC13354788
Exploratory FDG PET/CT Imaging in mCRPC Patients Treated with Sipuleucel-T ± IL-7: A Phase II Trial Subanalysis [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Immunotherapy has shown limited efficacy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), highlighting the need for noninvasive tools to monitor treatment-related biological changes.
- Closing excerpt
- Larger studies are warranted to validate these findings.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (234 words)
Immunotherapy has shown limited efficacy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), highlighting the need for noninvasive tools to monitor treatment-related biological changes. This case series evaluated exploratory metabolic imaging correlates using [18F]-FDG PET/CT in mCRPC patients enrolled in a Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network (CITN) trial of sipuleucel-T (sip-T) with or without recombinant interleukin-7 (IL-7). Among 54 enrolled patients (NCT01881867), three underwent serial [18F]-FDG PET/CT imaging at baseline and following sip-T therapy. Imaging assessed tumor metabolic activity and potential immune-related metabolic changes, based on the premise that immune processes may influence FDG uptake. Patient 1, treated with sip-T alone, demonstrated progressive sternal metastasis with stable SUVmax and marked increases in metabolic tumor volume (MTV: 10.1-34.5) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG: 43.4-145.8), consistent with poor prognosis. Patient 2 showed minimal tumor avidity but transient increases in splenic SUVmax and SUVmean following sip-T, which may reflect treatment-related or immune-associated metabolic activity. Patient 3, treated with sip-T plus IL-7, demonstrated a 33% reduction in SUVmax, stable disease on follow-up imaging, decreased PSA levels, and metabolic changes consistent with treatment response in this individual case. These findings were observed in a single patient and are considered exploratory and hypothesis-generating only. [18F]-FDG PET/CT imaging may provide exploratory insights into metabolic changes in tumors and immune-related organs in mCRPC. Metabolic changes in tumors and immune organs may provide insights into treatment-associated biological effects. Larger studies are warranted to validate these findings.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42278652 · DOI · PMC13257278
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Gallium-68 Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography in Advanced Prostate Cancer-Updated Diagnostic Utility, Sensitivity, Specificity, and Distribution of Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen-avid Lesions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis [4]
- Research article 68Ga-Labeled Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Ligand Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography for Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis [5]
- Research article Meta-analysis of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis [6]
- Research article Diagnostic performance of imaging for the detection of peritoneal metastases: a meta-analysis [7]
- Research article Can Negative Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Avoid the Need for Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection in Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer Patients? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis with Backup Histology as Reference Standard [8]
- Research article Positron Emission Tomography and Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography Imaging in the Diagnosis of Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [9]
Full-text reviews on EvidenceLib
Open-access review articles about this topic, reproduced in full with authors, licence and references.
Nonprostatic diseases on PSMA PET imaging: a spectrum of benign and malignant findings
Felipe de Galiza Barbosa, Marcelo Araujo Queiroz, Rafael Fernandes Nunes et al. · Cancer Imaging 2020 · CC BY 4.0
Radiomics in predicting treatment response in non-small-cell lung cancer: current status, challenges and future perspectives
Madhurima R. Chetan, Fergus V. Gleeson · European Radiology 2020 · CC BY 4.0
References
- Povala G, Bellaver B, Lussier FZ, Amaral L, Bauer-Negrini G, Ferreira PCL, et al.. Comparison of [18F]flortaucipir and [18F]MK6240 for the detection of tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease (HEAD): a multicentre, prospective, cross-sectional, within-participant study. . 2026. PMID 42208563 · DOI · PMC13656316
- Jeblick K, Schachtner B, Mittermeier A, Dexl J, Wesp P, Küstner T, et al.. A Whole-Body PSMA-PET/CT dataset with manually annotated tumor lesions. . 2026. PMID 42432027 · DOI · PMC13354788
- Panikar SS, Bansal D, Crandall J, Raman H, Picus J, Ippolito JE, et al.. Exploratory FDG PET/CT Imaging in mCRPC Patients Treated with Sipuleucel-T ± IL-7: A Phase II Trial Subanalysis. . 2026. PMID 42278652 · DOI · PMC13257278
- Perera M, Papa N, Roberts M, Williams M, Udovicich C, Vela I, et al.. Gallium-68 Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography in Advanced Prostate Cancer-Updated Diagnostic Utility, Sensitivity, Specificity, and Distribution of Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen-avid Lesions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Eur Urol. 2020. PMID 30773328 · DOI
- von Eyben FE, Picchio M, von Eyben R, Rhee H, Bauman G. 68Ga-Labeled Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Ligand Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography for Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Eur Urol Focus. 2018. PMID 28753806 · DOI
- Mahmood M, Kendi AT, Ajmal S, Farid S, O'Horo JC, Chareonthaitawee P, et al.. Meta-analysis of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis. J Nucl Cardiol. 2019. PMID 29086386 · DOI
- van 't Sant I, Engbersen MP, Bhairosing PA, Lambregts DMJ, Beets-Tan RGH, van Driel WJ, et al.. Diagnostic performance of imaging for the detection of peritoneal metastases: a meta-analysis. Eur Radiol. 2020. PMID 32065287 · DOI
- Stabile A, Pellegrino A, Mazzone E, Cannoletta D, de Angelis M, Barletta F, et al.. Can Negative Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Avoid the Need for Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection in Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer Patients? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis with Backup Histology as Reference Standard. Eur Urol Oncol. 2022. PMID 34538770 · DOI
- Juneau D, Golfam M, Hazra S, Zuckier LS, Garas S, Redpath C, et al.. Positron Emission Tomography and Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography Imaging in the Diagnosis of Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. 2017. PMID 28377468 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.