TY - JOUR T1 - Molecular Imaging in Cancer Drug Development JF - Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO - J Nucl Med SP - 726 LP - 732 DO - 10.2967/jnumed.116.188045 VL - 59 IS - 5 AU - Stijn J.H. Waaijer AU - Iris C. Kok AU - Bertha Eisses AU - Carolina P. Schröder AU - Mathilde Jalving AU - Adrienne H. Brouwers AU - Marjolijn N. Lub-de Hooge AU - Elisabeth G.E. de Vries Y1 - 2018/05/01 UR - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/59/5/726.abstract N2 - Development of new oncology drugs has increased since the improved understanding of cancer’s complex biology. The oncology field has become the top therapeutic research area for new drugs. However, only a limited number of drugs entering clinical trials will be approved for use as the standard of care for cancer patients. Molecular imaging is increasingly perceived as a tool to support go/no-go decisions early during drug development. It encompasses a wide range of techniques that include radiolabeling a compound of interest followed by visualization with SPECT or PET. Radiolabeling can be performed using a variety of radionuclides, which are preferably matched to the compound on the basis of size and half-life. Imaging can provide information on drug behavior in vivo, whole-body drug target visualization, and heterogeneity in drug target expression. This review focuses on current applications of molecular imaging in the development of small molecules, antibodies, and antihormonal anticancer drugs. ER -