99mTc-MIBI in the evaluation of breast cancer biology

Scintigraphic in vivo evaluation of complex cellular processes such as proliferation, apoptosis, receptor/ligand interactions, transport of substrates and metabolism of nutrients in human cancers is a wide and continuing evolving area of investigation in nuclear medicine (Denoyer et al. 2006; Been et al. 2004; Corsten et al. 2006; Weissleder 2006). A major purpose in this area is the non-invasive detection of well-known biochemical, molecular and histological markers of tumor aggressiveness, invasiveness and resistance to therapy, which may provide rational criteria for a fine tuning of therapeutic strategies in individual patients. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.