Reston, VA (June 19, 2026)—New research has been published ahead-of-print by The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM). JNM is published by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, an international scientific and medical organization dedicated to advancing nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and theranostics—precision medicine that allows diagnosis and treatment to be tailored to individual patients in order to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Summaries of the newly published research articles are provided below.
PET Imaging Agent Tracks Drug-Resistance Target in Lung Cancer
Researchers developed a new PET imaging agent designed to detect xCT, a protein linked to treatment resistance in non–small cell lung cancer. In preclinical studies, the radiotracer accurately identified tumors with high xCT expression and enabled visualization of how xCT-targeting antibodies reached and interacted with lung cancer lesions.
Imaging Reveals Unexpected Effects of Immune Cell Depletion After Heart Attack
Researchers used advanced molecular imaging to examine how depleting macrophages affects healing after a heart attack in mice. Despite reduced macrophage levels, inflammatory signals persisted, and many animals developed blood clots that later calcified. The findings highlight the complex immune response that follows cardiac injury.
PET Imaging Improves Detection of Rare, Aggressive Kidney Cancer
A study of patients with renal medullary carcinoma, a rare and aggressive kidney cancer, found that FDG PET/CT detected cancer throughout the body with high sensitivity. The imaging technique frequently identified metastatic lesions missed by conventional scans, including disease in bones, lymph nodes, and soft tissues, influencing treatment decisions.
PSMA PET-Guided Biopsy Outperforms Standard Approach for Prostate Cancer Detection
In a randomized clinical trial of men undergoing their first prostate biopsy, PSMA PET/CT-guided biopsy detected more prostate cancers than MRI-directed biopsy. The technique also required fewer tissue samples, resulted in less pain, and was associated with fewer complications, highlighting its potential to improve prostate cancer diagnosis.
Study Establishes Kidney Function Reference Ranges for Children
Researchers analyzed kidney function measurements from 235 children and young adults using a validated nuclear medicine test. The study found that filtration rates increase rapidly during infancy, continue rising through early childhood, and gradually reach adult levels. The findings provide important age-based reference ranges for evaluating pediatric kidney health.
AI Agent Automates PET/CT Analysis from Scan to Draft Report
Researchers developed an AI system that autonomously processes PET/CT scans, from selecting imaging data to generating structured draft reports. Tested in 170 lung cancer cases, the tool accurately identified primary tumors and completed the entire workflow without human intervention, demonstrating the potential for AI-assisted imaging interpretation.
PET Imaging Metrics Improve Risk Prediction in Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma
Using data from more than 550 children with high-risk Hodgkin lymphoma, researchers found that quantitative PET imaging measurements predicted disease progression more accurately than clinical factors alone. Advanced image-analysis techniques did not improve performance, while AI-generated tumor segmentations matched physician assessments, supporting more automated approaches to risk evaluation.
AI Uncovers New Heart Risk Marker in PET Imaging
Researchers used artificial intelligence to automatically measure activity in the heart’s right ventricle from PET/CT scans of more than 25,000 patients. Higher right ventricular activity was linked to an increased risk of death or heart attack, suggesting this often-overlooked imaging feature may provide valuable insight into cardiovascular risk.
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About JNM and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM) is the world’s leading nuclear medicine, molecular imaging and theranostics journal, accessed 15 million times each year by practitioners around the globe, providing them with the information they need to advance this rapidly expanding field. Current and past issues of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine can be found online at http://jnm.snmjournals.org.
JNM is published by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), an international scientific and medical organization dedicated to advancing nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and theranostics—precision medicine that allows diagnosis and treatment to be tailored to individual patients in order to achieve the best possible outcomes. For more information, visit www.snmmi.org.
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Journal of Nuclear Medicine