Functional imaging in hereditary endocrine neoplasms

Unlike standard scans that mainly show the size and location of tumours, functional imaging can reveal how tumours behave biologically, helping doctors find cancers earlier, choose the most suitable treatments and monitor patients more accurately over their lifetime. The review highlights that different genetic conditions often respond best to different imaging tracers, allowing scans to be tailored to a person’s genetic diagnosis. These advances are also supporting new “theranostic” approaches, where the same target identified on a scan can be used to deliver targeted radiation treatment. While these developments offer significant benefits, challenges remain, including limited access to specialist scans, high costs and concerns about repeated radiation exposure. The authors conclude that personalised, genetics-based imaging has the potential to improve outcomes for people with hereditary endocrine cancers and is likely to play an increasingly important role in future care.

Stephen Ludgate, Sarah C Brennan, James McNeil, Venessa HM Tsang, Bruce G Robinson, Lyndal Tacon, Roderick J Clifton-Bligh, Matti L Gild; FROM DISCOVERY SCIENCE TO THE CLINIC – HERITABLE ENDOCRINE CANCERS AND RELATED DISORDERS: Functional imaging in hereditary endocrine neoplasms: evolving modalities and clinical implications. Endocr Relat Cancer 1 August 2026; 33 (7): e250516. https://doi.org/10.1530/ERC-25-0516; summarised using AI and checked by the AMEND Medical Advisory Team
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